Dangling Threads
by mikejacobs9999
Summary: Picking up one week after the events of the movie, this story looks into the little things left unresolved in the movie and rarely if ever discussed in other writings. a hint of Kristanna, and touch of Frohana, but mostly taking a fresh look at the world of Frozen (and maybe the rest of the Disney Princess-verse.)
1. Chapter 1 - The Business of Arendelle

**Chapter 1 – The Business of Arendelle**

Kristoff stared into his palm where five gold coins baring the profile of the late King Agdar stared back at him. It was rare for Kristoff to have this much money at one time, and he had more than twice as much more in his money pouch. "Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer" Anna called it, his new job, obviously made up. But they were _actually_ paying him _actual_ money for it. Twenty gold kroner, just to stock up on supplies, and that's _after_ replacing his sled,

"ahem, sir… 2 kroner, 25 øre." Apparently, the shop stand clerk, a middle-aged woman with dark hair on her head and an annoyed look on her face, had been trying to get his attention for a little while. Kristoff gave an apologetic grin and handed over three coins.

With his change and fresh provisions, Kristoff returned to Sven and his sled, his _new Official Ice Master and Deliverer _sled, and started packing his gear. He was still getting used the changes… only one week ago, he was alone in the mountains, harvesting ice, just scratching by; and then all the craziness, the freeze, the snowman, the Queen, the big snowman, and Anna. He got stuck on that last thought. Anna.

"Bjorgman!" a man's voice called out.

Kristoff looked up. It was a man, a bit older that Kristoff himself, dressed like an ice harvester, but no gear. He looked a bit familiar, but Kristoff couldn't place his name. "Uh, yeah?"

"Henriksen wants to see you." Hendricksen, the head of the Ice Harvesters guild. Probably not a good thing.

"Oh. OK." Kristoff dropped the rest of the supplies in the back of the sled, "Just let me take care of this-"

"Just head over there. I'll bring your sled and… _animal_." Sven, distractedly chewing on some hay, gave the man a studied glare.

"Over there" was the _Ice House_, a tavern where ice harvesters usually gathered and stayed while in town. It was also the unofficial headquarters of the _Ice Harvesters and Carvers Guild_, of which Lars Henriksen has been the guildmaster for the last ten years. The _Ice House_ was about five minutes' walk from the market, just inside the gate that opened to the mountain road.

Kristoff entered the tavern. He hadn't been here for over a year, but it looked the same. It had a large commons area, with worn tables scattered around, the bar at the back, next to stairs leading to the upper floor where the rooms were. A fireplace was at either end of the commons, with ice-harvesting gear hanging over them. The hearths were not lit, likely due to the recent run on firewood during the "Big Freeze" (that's what people were calling it.) Guild-master Henriksen held court at the table in front of the left fireplace.

Lars Henriksen was in his mid-fifties, thin, sharp features, gray hair, and had, of course, one leg. Kristoff's father told him the story when he was little. Henriksen was a master ice harvester, one of the best. Really knew his ice and the mountain, and Kristoff's father respected him for that. By the time he was thirty, he was leading teams for the guild. A real company-man, Kristoff's father had said. His father had never actually said it, but Kristoff got the feeling that his father and Henriksen didn't get along, since Henricksen was all about the guild, and Krisoff's father usually worked solo. But it never came to any kind of conflict, just a general disagreement as to how to do business. Or that's what he told his young son.

About fifteen years ago, it was during what should have been an ordinary job, early spring, when the demand for ice for export starts picking up. Six men, a horse, and a cart, heading for the upper peaks, where the ice never quite melts. But winter had been long, and the wolves were hungry. They don't normally approach ice-men when they're working, and lit torches and a crossbow bolt or two will keep even the most daring wolves away. The sun was setting and they had a full cart, so it was time to start the return trip. The wolves would usually just follow the crew and cart, but not approach, but not this time. A few jumped out in front of the horse, which spooked. A fully loaded cart won't topple, it's too weighted down, but in the jostling, a rope came loose, and some of the great bricks of ice slid off. And one found Lars Henriksen's right leg, crushing it.

It had to be amputated, of course, and he lost his leg from just above his knee. This would be a career-ender for most men, but not Henriksen. After losing his leg, he suffered an ailment for two months, and almost died from that. But Freya would not admit him to Folkvang. Once he recovered, he had a new leg made for himself, out of wood and iron. One end to strap to his stump, and an ice pick on the other. He worked the ice for three more years, only retiring when old Rangvold passed, and almost everyone insisted Henriksen take over as guild-master.

So, standing across the table from where the other man sat, Kristoff knew this was no one to mess with.

"Kristoff, sit down," Henricksen waved at a chair, and pushed a mug over to Kristoff's side of the table, "Have a drink. Let's talk."

Kristoff sat and took a drink from the mug. It was the house draught, the cheap stuff.

Henricksen held up something in his hand, inspecting it. "So, _Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer_. That's something, isn't it?" It was the pendant that Sven was wearing when Anna presented him with his new sled, which he had stored _in_ the sled last he checked.

"Yeah, um, that's just something Princess Anna made up. I really don't—"

"It's all right, " Henricksen interrupted, waving his other hand. "It's good. When the castle needs ice, the guild normally takes care of it. If they want to you to deliver it now, that's fine. And with the gates open again, they will be needing a lot more, and when it's more than you can handle, you know who to talk to." He tapped the table, as if to punctuate his point.

He slid the pendant back over to Kristoff and continued, "The business of Arendelle is ice. Without it, we would be just another fishing village. But we have our pure mountains springs and crystal clear lakes, ready access to the heights from the city, and ready access to the shipping lanes from the fjord. Ideal for our special commodity. Sure, a few other places export their own ice, but no others can match Arendelle's quantity or quality. And it has made our _lendmen_ into kings and queens."

Kristoff wondered where Henricksen's lecture was leading. He knew about the springs and lakes and roads, of course, his father taught him when he was young, and he has been living amongst it all since he'd been on his own. He didn't know so much about sending ice to other kingdoms, since he normally sold his ice in the city and the other towns in the valley. But Henricksen hardly needed to tell Kristoff how important ice was. Ice was his life.

"And so, the Queen… that was some weather we had this last week, hmm?" Henricksen turned to Kristoff, looking for a reaction, but Kristoff just stared back. "Middle of summer, the fjord freezes, ice and snow cover the town, all the way into the mountains. That's quite a feat for our dear Queen Elsa."

Kristoff stood suddenly and angrily. "Don't talk about her like that! It was a stressful day, and she couldn't help it, and people were trying to kill her!" He realized that argument was a bit scattered, but he couldn't let Henricksen talk like that about Anna's sister!

But Henricksen was waving his hands at Kristoff to interrupt his rant. "Kristoff, Kristoff, stop." He gestured for him to sit back down, which Kristoff slowly did.

"You misunderstand me. I think it's great," Henricksen explained. Kristoff gazed back, a little confused.

"Look, first off all, I have the greatest respect for our royal family. My father and King Yorril, Agdar's father, before he was king, served together in the Friesian Campaigns. My father was Yorril's batman, and they saved each other's lives several times over. And his son, King Agdar was quite the gentleman. Arendelle suffered a great injury when we lost Agdar and Irdun."

Henricksen continued, "The queen has magic. Sure, magic is everywhere, it seems. Every family has their _Fairy Godmother_ story, and you can find an ogre or a mermaid if you look hard enough." _Or a troll_, Kristoff studiously did _not_ say aloud.

"But Queen Elsa is the Ice and Snow Queen, right? The Queen of _Arendelle_ has the magic power to create _snow and ice_. Is that not perfect? We should put a picture of her lovely face on the packing of all ice leaving our shores."

Henricksen paused, his enthusiasm trailing off.

"But then that's also the problem, isn't it? What is her majesty planning to do with her powers? That ice rink was a lovely piece of work. We certainly could not have done that, not in the summer, so no risk to our livelihood in that. But what else? Freeze a few lowland lakes in the summer? Makes for some easy harvesting, which sounds good at first, but easy ice is cheap ice, and that hurts us all. And then maybe she can just create the ice in ready to use bricks, and then where would we be? Do you see the problem?"

Kristoff didn't know what to say. Elsa wouldn't do that, would she?

"Now, I don't think it would really come to that. The queen has more important things to do. But the question needs to be asked."

"I could ask for an audience, but Trade Minister Skarsgård would insist on being there as well. And with him it's always _the trade agreement with Westvale_ and _the mercantile concord of the North Sea States_, or some such nonsense. He muddles things up and we'd never get to the point."

"But you have access that rest of us don't. You're friends with the royal family now, so you can get in the castle and talk to the queen without all of the formal ceremony."

"Look, I know you prefer to work solo and not with the guild teams, same as your father. But there are no ill feelings between us, right? The guild took care of you when you were a kid, when you had just lost your father. And we've come to an accord after your early _misunderstandings_, right?"

It was an interesting way to look at things. Kristoff's father had always felt the guild interfered too much in every harvester's business, with fees and requirements. Ice harvesting is not a high profit business; winter ice sells cheap, and summer ice requires long and dangerous trips, and the ice is half melted before you can get to market. So add in the guild's cut, on top of membership fees, and it can be hard for a harvester to make a living, much less raise a family. Harder still when the family has lost its mother.

And after Kristoff's father was gone, it wasn't the guild who took care of him, it was the other mothers and wives in the mountain village who gave him food and a place to sleep. All the guild did was allow him to tag along with the team, and look the other way when he carted away a brick or two with Sven.

And when he was old enough and big enough to be harvesting ice in any real quantity, then the guild come on hard. He was harvesting professionally now, and there are the rules, and more importantly, there are the fees. But Kristoff, like his father, didn't like it, and so he wouldn't pay. But that just caused more trouble, so the guild put the word out that no one was to buy Kristoff's ice. Business dried up. The money ran out after the first week, and after the second week, Kristoff was hungry enough to agree to anything the guild wanted. _That_ was their _misunderstanding_.

Henricksen continued, "Kristoff, it's not about you and me and any differences of opinion we may have. It's about the ice and the ice harvesters. Your brothers and mine. It's a proud tradition, going back to the founding of Arendelle almost a millennium ago. We both love our queen, and wish her the best for herself and all of Arendelle. We just need to know where we stand. Can you do this for us?"


	2. Chapter 2 - Weasel Town

**Chapter 2 – Weasel Town**

Trade Minister of Arendelle, Arven Skarsgård, sighed and read the slip of paper again. It's not that he didn't understand it; it was quite straightforward. "The ship _Caroline_ requests permission to dock and do business." The _Caroline_ was a trading ship, currently anchored at the fjord entrance, guarded by the Arendelle navy ship _The North Star, _owned by the _Verenigde H__andeldrijvend_ _Compagnie_, and flying the flag of the _Duchy of Wesselton_.

Arven Skarsgård had served as the head of the _Ministry of Commerce and Trade_ under King Agdar for five years, and in other positions in the ministry for an additional seventeen. He was in his late fifties and was considering retiring when the king and queen were lost. And when it was decided that the Minister of Trade should be a member of the Regency Council during the interregnum, he decided, for the good of the kingdom, to continue serving until Princess Elsa took the crown. Despite closing the castle doors, and thus not personally entertaining foreign ambassadors and other dignitaries, King Agdar had pressed a strong policy of trade, and it had served Arendelle well and made it prosperous.

Once a month, the regency council would meet with Princess Elsa to discuss the affairs of the kingdom, and seek her council. Until the princess was crowned, the regency council had the authority to handle all matters of state, but tradition dictated that the council should seek the advice of the crown prince or princess. (Though this tradition was almost considered a joke one hundred twenty years ago, during the unfortunate regency of Crown Prince Henerik, who was only two years old when his father King Osterfal fell ill and died quite suddenly. His mother, Queen Benonete, doted on her son, but took no interest in the running of the kingdom, leaving the council to request advice from a boy far more interested in his toys.) Crown Princess Elsa was normally quiet during these meetings, but always sat attentively, listening to every councilor, usually just nodding in acknowledgement to their report. But when she did have questions, they were relevant and insightful, showing a keen mind behind her tacit façade.

Therefore, Minister Skarsgård felt that once the Crown Princess had been elevated to Queen regnant, he would only need to serve another six months, perhaps a year, to ensure that the transition was complete, and he would be confident in the abilities of Her Majesty and whomever his successor would be.

But the events around the coronation sundered all his plans. Reports of Queen Elsa's… _abilities?_... would put the small, innocuous kingdom of Arendelle onto the world stage. And effecting him more directly was, of course, the declaration of embargo on the Duchy of Wesselton. Perhaps an easy thing to declare, but not so easy a thing to implement.

Petar Sigmarsen, Arven's secretary for almost a year, was working through a stack of papers at his own desk. Arven turned to him, holding out the troubling slip of paper, and said, "Petar, what do you make of this?"

Petar took the message and read it. "The _Caroline_. That's the one anchored in the fjord?"

Arven nodded.

Petar further queried, "Which one is it? There are several _Carolines_ that come to Arendelle."

Arven responded, "It's the one with _Verenigde H__andeldrijvend_."

Petar nodded, understanding. "It's a Weaseltown ship, so we don't let it dock."

Given recent events, Arven now appreciated the epithet, though he might not use it himself. Not professional. He countered Petar, "But it's not quite that simple. If its sister ship…" Arven paused, quickly opening a ledger, flipping a couple pages and pointing to an entry, "the_ Beatrice_, sailed in, would we deny her entry? She flies the flag of Bruges. But they're both owned by _H__andeldrijvend_."

Arven continued, "_Verenigde H__andeldrijvend_ is a large company; lots of ships. But it doesn't belong to any one kingdom, no company does. Well, except _Wittmund_, of course." _Wittmund Trading Consortium_, the worst kept secret in the Northern Sea, solely owned by the Duke's family.

"_Verenigde H__andeldrijvend_ _Compagnie_ has depots in a dozen cities along the North Sea coast and some down along Great Ocean, cities in at least half-a-dozen kingdoms or other states. If it belongs to anything, it would be the Hanseatic League, to which most of those cities belong. It just flags some of its ships in each of the kingdoms. Wesselton just happens to be one of them."

Arven hesitated, just now remembering something. "You're from Wesselton, aren't you?"

Petar shook his head, "Not exactly. It's complicated…"

When Arven didn't interrupt, Petar continued. "My father's family were farmers in Lübecktal, in the Lübeck river valley area, and my mother's from Lübeckberg, up river. When the drought hit, about fifty years ago, my mother's family, like so many others, moved downstream to Lübecktal, where they became tenants on my grandfather's land. That was just before the prince of –tal married the princess from –berg, and they merged the kingdoms back into Lübeckstadt, like they were a hundred years before. My father didn't want to be a farmer, so he joined up with Schlichting-Jürgen, as a sailor on one of their ships. After a couple years, he was promoted to cargo-chief. My mother also worked for S-J, as a clerk in their Lübeckstadt terminal. I think she got that job just to be close to my father. It worked, I guess, because they got married, and a few years later, I was born. So with me as a baby, he didn't want to be away on ships all the time anymore, so he got himself transferred to Wesselton where he managed the Schlichting-Jürgen warehouses. We spent about twelve years there. So yes, I'm a weasel-boy. But that was around the time the old Duke died and his son took over, the current Duke of Weaseltown. He was all for the shipping companies, making all sorts of laws, rules, and edicts, always in their favor. Great for them, great for the Duke, not so great for the regular working people. So eventually, we packed up, moved to the city-state of Copenhagen, where my father and mother ran an imports shop, making good use of the connections he had built up over the years. When I came of age, I started sailing with the companies as well, but it got old for me after a couple years. One day I found myself on shore-leave here in Arendelle, and I decided to stay."

Arven laughed. "I've seen you with your reason; very pretty."

Petar smiled as well. "That's Magda. We're getting married in the fall."

Holding up the slip of paper once again, Petar asked, "So, what are you going to do about this?"

Arven sighed, then answered, "Well, it is ultimately the Queen's decision, but my recommendation is to turn the _Caroline_ away, as well as any other shipped flagged with Wesselton; but any of their ships flagged elsewhere should be welcomed. The companies will know our dispute is with Wesselton, and not with them, and so they will need to make a choice. They can take their ships to another port, like Oslo or Skagen, and either try to sell their goods there, much less profit to be had that way, or reload their goods to other ships and come back, a waste of both time and money. And that's what they'll do at first. But long term, it will be easier for them to reflag their ships away from Wesselton and to other kingdoms. That's simple enough to do and won't cost much. But it will cost Wesselton; the Duke makes his money from the customs and tariffs, licenses and permits, and, of course, the outright graft."

"And it won't be just docking rights with Arendelle they'll be doing it for. We've already received word from several other kingdoms that had representatives attending the Queen's coronation, Donegal, Lorraine, Corona, that they will also be enacting an embargo of Wesselton. Apparently, attempted regicide is not the most diplomatically advantageous of endeavors. And that should strike the Duke right in his most sensitive spot, the coin-purse."

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

- I imagine that in the Disney Princess-verse, there are many small kingdoms, principalities, duchies, and city-states, similar to Europe in the 17th and 18th century. For more discussion of the Princess-verse politics, see my blog. (link from my author page.)

_- Verenigde H__andeldrijvend_ _Compagnie_ is dutch for "United Trading Company." Think of it like the real world's Dutch East India Company.

- _Hanseatic League, _in the real world was a group of cities and their merchant guild forming a trade network across northern Europe from the 13th through 17th centuries. Given the more disparate political nature of the Princess-verse, I think that such an organization would likely continue to exist much longer.


	3. Chapter 3 - I Love the Open Gates

**Chapter 3 – I Love the Open Gates**

Kristoff and Sven walked along the bridge to the castle. As he approached the courtyard gate, now always open by the order of Queen Elsa, he saw two castle guardsmen stationed at either side of the causeway, holding halberds and wearing uniforms with the royal colors of Arendelle, purple and green. The Guard on the left seemed to be having a particularly animated argument with a man, probably a farmer judging from his cart full of vegetables that his horse was pulling. But as Kristoff got close enough to overhear, they were just _discussing_ the relative attributes of the local and visiting curling teams, who were having a series of summer exhibition games on the Queen Elsa's ice rink.

The guards paid little attention to Kristoff as he passed through the gates, though they did give Sven a look.

With the gates open, the castle courtyard had, over the course of the last week, turned into another market square. But unlike the market in city, the courtyard shops were focusing more on crafts and toys, sweetmeats and candy, and there were entertainers, jugglers, jesters, musicians, stationed at each of the courtyard corners.

As they worked their way across the courtyard, children started gathering to see Sven.

"Hey mister, is this your reindeer?" said a dark haired boy, probably around ten years old.

"Sort of. Sven's my best friend." Kristoff replied.

The boy cocked his head. "How can a reindeer be your best friend?"

"We grew up together. And now we work together in the mountains."

"Yeah, what do you do?"

"Ice. We harvest ice."

The boy laughed. "You're going to need a new job now! Queen Elsa can make all the ice we need." He said, pointing towards the ice rink on the north side of the courtyard.

Kristoff ran his hand through hair, not sure how to respond. But a scream and a crash to his left rescued him.

A young woman now sat awkwardly on the ground, surrounded by what was likely her shop's inventory, a bunch of dolls and puppets now scattered across the ground. And the cause of the crash stood in front her, stick arms spread apart, and a permanent cloud above its head sprinkling down snowflakes.

"So you don't want a hug? That's too bad." Olaf enthusiastically said to the woman. "But if you change your mind, I'll be right here!"

While Sven was entertaining, the children all loved Olaf, and those that had been clustered around Kristoff now sped off towards the animated snowman to get their hugs.

After the Big Freeze, many people were concerned, and didn't know if having a sorcerer-queen, as some put it, was a good thing for Arendelle. But in the following week, anyone who met Olaf seemed to think it would be acceptable. If the queen was using her powers to make a comedy relief, it couldn't be that bad. Of course there were still a few who said she was creating golems or summoning demons, but few gave them any attention. Kristoff though it best, then, to not mention the large guardian snowman on the North Mountain.

Freed from the crowd of children, Kristoff and Sven continued across the courtyard to the castle entrance proper. Again, a couple guards stood on either side of the open doors into the castle, though these seems to be paying much greater attention to people's comings and goings. A man carrying a crate of cabbages walked straight past the guards and into the castle, so Kristoff thought there would be no problems getting it.

As he approached the doors, however, the guard on the right moved just a bit into Kristoff's path, not exactly blocking him, and not actually threatening him in any way, but definitely not letting him through.

"Sir, what is your business with the castle?" asked the guard.

That was actually quite an improvement since a few days ago, where he was almost immediately turned away. But then he was still looking, and frankly _smelling_, a little rough, still with the remnants of his recent adventures about him. But since his so-called official appointment, and the funds that go with it, Kristoff has had a chance to clean up, clean his clothes, and even buy some new. So now, while still decked out as an ice harvester, he presented himself as a rather decent and well-kept ice harvester.

Kristoff responded hesitantly, not sure how to ask. "I'd like to see the Queen?"

The guard prompted turned him down, "I'm sorry sir, but Her Majesty the Queen is not granting any audiences today."

"How about An—um, Princess Anna?" asked Kristoff.

"Let me check." Replied the guard. He turned, stepped into the castle, and called out "Hey Didrik! Tell the Princess that her ice harvester is here."

_I guess they know who I am,_ thought Kristoff.

Turning back, the guard resumed his position, grinning knowingly to Kristoff.

A couple minutes later, Kristoff could hear the tale-tell signs, something crashing, people calling out, and a familiar voice apologizing, "Sorry! Sorry!" Then Anna, walking backwards half stumbling, appeared on the other side of the doors.

Taking a moment to stabilize herself, Anna then turned and called out, "Kristoff, come on in!" Then to the two guards, she added "Thank you, Rolf, Sigmond."

The guards bowed to Anna, saying "Your Highness". Rolf, apparently the one who was addressing Kristoff earlier, now stepped aside to let him in, though he was still grinning.

But as Kristoff started enter, Sigmond, the other guard who at least had the decency to keep a straight face, said, "Sir, reindeers are not allowed in the castle."

Just realizing that Sven was still with him, Kristoff turned, and started to say, "Oh, um, I guess—"

Sigmond interrupted, "We'll see that your reindeer is taken to the stables, sir."

Relieved, Kristoff responded, "Thanks." Then to Sven, "Behave yourself, OK?" to which Sven answered with a dismissive snort.

Kristoff stepped through the doors and into the castle. He had gotten close to the castle before, after they had been rescued from the ship after the queen thawed the fjord, and later when she made the skating rink in the courtyard, but this was the first time inside. It was majestic and old, and with its peaked roofline, it reminded him of the old pine forests on the mountains.

Next to Kristoff, Anna rocked from toe to heel and back again, bouncing slightly at the start of each cycle. Her hair was in its usual two pigtails, and she wore a green dress with a black vest stitched with a rosemaling pattern. She smiled and watched him taking in the scenery.

"So, missed me so much already, you decided to pay a visit? Lucky for you, I'm on a break from the negotiations between the Lords of Ragnarok and the Great Southern Empire, so I'm free." Anna kidded.

"Um, actually, I'm here to see the Queen, if I can—" Kristoff half mumbled.

Anna started in surprise, "Oh! Well, Elsa is in her study doing queen things, but it's about time I pulled her out of there anyway. She promised me she's only working through the morning and then we'd go into town for the afternoon, and her time is up!"

Anna then grabbed Kristoff's arm with her hands, leaned onto him and said, "You can come with us. I'm sure Elsa wouldn't mind."

Kristoff replied, "Well, that would be nice, but Master Kai gave me the castle's ice order, and you're having some kind of special big dinner or something in two days, and you'll need a lot, so I need to head out to the mountains pretty soon."

Anna pouted. "You and your ice. You like it so much, I might think you're more interesting in Elsa than me."

"What? No, I like you. Really—" Kristoff defended himself.

Anna cut off his protestations, "It's OK, mountain man. I know you do." Tugging on the arm she already had made prisoner, "Come on, let's go disturb her majesty, my sister."


	4. Chapter 4 - Horsing Around

**Chapter 4 – Horsing Around**

Standing on her tiptoes, Anna waved to Kristoff one last time, as he rounded the fence at the far corner of the stable yard and went out of sight. He and Sven were off to the mountains to collect ice for the palace, _especially important_ now that he was the _Official Ice Master and Deliverer_, Anna thought with satisfaction.

Spinning on heels, Anna started walking back through the stables to the castle. Elsa had promised to spend the afternoon with her in Arendelle town today and they were going right after Anna saw Kristoff and Sven off, though Elsa had probably started working on something else as soon as they had left her office. Kristoff had come to the castle to talk to Elsa, something about ice harvesting and business; Anna couldn't quite remember or understand. Kristoff was talking about the impact on commerce and something about product access and price stability, and Elsa was saying something about personal and entertainment use, but Anna had stopped paying attention. _Then_ they started talking about ice, just ice. The different kinds of ice, water source location, water quality, mineral content, _color_. Who knew ice came in different colors? It's ice colored! Kind of clear, a little white sometimes. Now if you were to freeze some lingonberry juice, _that_ would have some real color. But you have to be careful about splashing when pouring the juice into the ice trays, because lingonberry stains something terrible. Ruined a brand new dressing gown the other day at breakfast, knocked the whole pitcher over. She was just trying to describe the design on the sails of ship that just arrived that morning, using her hands to shape the crest of some strange bird-lion-thing, and boom, splash! And it was Elsa's dressing gown, too, Anna was just borrowing it. She promised Elsa that she'd get her a new gown as soon as they got to town again, since she saw a really pretty one in that shop on Primrose Street, blue and ivory, which would be great matching Elsa's eyes and hair, and maybe they could get two, one for Anna too, in blue to match her eyes, and red to match the lingonberries! Wait, what?

Anna broke from her reverie, finding herself having crossed the entire stables and almost exiting the opposite end. She was planning to stop at the stall where they kept her horse, Starlilly, but lost in thought, Anna had strode right past her. Turning again, Anna found herself facing another horse she recognized.

"Don't I know you?" asked Anna to the horse. It was a solidly built, dun colored horse with a black and off-white mane. And the last time Anna "bumped" into it, he was carrying _him_, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles.

As Anna looked at the horse, it raised its head and met her eyes, raising its eyebrows inquisitively, right back at her. Weird.

"Oh ya, that one, princess, is a strange one." came a voice from behind Anna. Anna smiled, looking back to see Gard Bjørnholt, the Master of Horse for Arendelle castle. Now late in his years, Master Bjørnholt had worked in, and later been in charge of, the castle stables for longer than Anna had been alive. King Agdar always respected him and his knowledge of and skills with horses. He had even taught both Anna and Elsa how to ride when they were little, and continued working with Anna after Elsa had gone into hiding. Standing a half-foot taller than Anna, he tied his now gray hair back in a tail, not unlike that of the horses he cared for. His thicker, rural nordic accent stuck out when he spoke.

"His name is Sitron, according to that blackguard prince. Still, cannot hold a man's actions against his horse, now can we?"

"Why is he still here?" Anna asked, looking back towards the horse.

"The ship that he and the prince came in on was equipped to carry horses in its hold, but that's the one that got tipped over when in the fjord froze over. It was lost when the Queen melted everything. The prince was sent home in a jail cell on the ship from Lloraine, but they couldn't carry horses. So here he stays until something is worked out."

"He's a smart one, that one is," Bjørnholt continued. "We take him out into the stable yard every day for some exercise, and he pretty much takes care of himself. And when I call to the boys to bring the horses back in, it's like he's heard me and actually rounds up the other ones and helps bring them in."

"A good fjordhest, too. Not from the Southern Isles or thereabouts, but from up here. One of the Bergen teams, if I'm right. Good stock, those horses."

Bjørnholt turned suddenly back towards the other end of the stables. "Ulrich, what do you think you're doing! You have it backwards!" Then turning back to Anna, "Excuse me, princess, but it seem I need to teach the new boy how to saddle a horse." And giving Anna a quick bow, he rushed off.

Anna returned her attention to the horse. "So, um… you doing okay? They treating you alright?" she asked, not sure what to expect. During their strange encounter at the dock, Anna was rather distracted by Prince Sideburns, but she did remember the horse acting like he understood what was going on.

So it only surprised Anna mildly when Sitron raised one roof up and shrugged. The horse _actually_ shrugged. At least, to Anna, that's what it looked like.

So Anna probed further, "You didn't actually know what Hans was up to, right? You just carried him around."

The horse backed-up in his stall, actually looking offended. Shook his head and gave a rather dismissing snort.

Anna crossed her arms, putting on hand to her chin, assessing the situation. "Okay, so I'm talking to a horse, which is a bit weird, but the horse seems to be understanding me and is talking back, which is totally bizarre. But at least I haven't gone as kooky as Kristoff, actually _talking_ in Sven's voice."

Back to talking to the horse. "So, what do _you_ want to do? I suppose we'll be seeing a ship from the Southern Isles eventually. They're going to want to deal with the mess Prince I-shoulda-broke-his-nose made. They should be able to take you back, or at least work something out."

Sitron shook his head from side to side, then tapped the ground twice with his right hoof.

"You want to stay here? Oh sure, you're a Fjord horse, you probably want to go back to your own, um, herd." Anna interpreted.

But the horse disagreed, shaking its head again, and stomping the ground again, but this time hard.

"Oh, you want to stay _here _here! In Arendelle?"

Sitron nodded.

"Um, I guess we can work something out. Tell you what, I'll talk to Elsa. She's queen, she can probably declare an executive order or something."

Sitron nodded again. Anna was getting a bit weirded out, but she thought she had conversations with Sven before. Maybe.

"And I guess you're feeling cooped-up here in the stables, right? I'll come down tomorrow and take you for a ride, get some exercise."

Another emphatic nod from the horse.

"Okaaaay. Done talking to horses. I'm going to go now."

And so to top off, Sitron lifted one leg and dipped his head. Bowing.

"Okay, bye."

The Queen's office is located on the second floor of Arendelle castle. It is positioned next to the library, and even has an internal door connecting the two rooms. The walls are lined with dark, rich pine and a window looks out over the now busy courtyard. The office is equipped with several bookshelves, a locked cabinet, and a large wooden desk, which once belonged to King Agdar, and to King Yorril before him. And now Elsa sat behind that desk, handling the affairs of state, one treaty, agreement, or declaration at a time.

While Anna was seeing Kristoff off, she could squeeze in just one more bit of work before Anna dragged her away for their afternoon in town, thought Elsa. Not that she didn't enjoy spending time with Anna now, but there _was_ work to be done.

From a stack of papers from the Minister of Foreign Affairs… the kingdoms of Porsgunn and Lyngdelle are each sending official representatives to Arendelle. Elsa made some notes of her own. Porsgrunn was a close kingdom to Arendelle, both geographically, it being only fifty miles up the coast, and politically. Porsgrunn and Arendelle had some regular trade, and they often had coordinated their navies when dealing with raiders and pirates. Their relationship had become somewhat strained over the last thirteen years during Arendelle's withdrawal from the world, and since that withdrawal was because of her, Elsa was determined to re-establish that relationship as best she could. As for Lyngdelle, while Arendelle also had some small amount of trade with that kingdom, their prince was a bit of a social peacock, and it was likely they just wanted to be seen to associate with Arendelle, now that they were drawing so much attention.

"Hey, _what _are you doing!" accused Anna, barging in from the hallway. "I told you, no more queen-work today."

"Well, if you weren't spending _so much_ time saying good-bye to Kristoff…" Elsa verbally reposted, smiling.

"Hey, I wasn't…" Anna blushed. "I was just talking to…" a horse. Okay, maybe she shouldn't mention that. "Fine. What's left? I'll help out and we can go."

Else waved towards the last stack on her desk, "Just the latest correspondences."

"Great!" declared Anna, plopping herself in the chair on the opposite side of the desk. Leaning over, she grabbed a couple items, handed one to Elsa and opened the other.

After about a minute of reading, Anna suddenly crushed the letter into a ball, and started looking for a burning fireplace to throw it into, but of course, there wasn't one. The cold never bothered Elsa, anyway.

"What is it?" Elsa inquired.

"Nothing important. Just some jerk who doesn't have anything better to do with his time than write nasty letters," said Anna.

Elsa sighed and asked, "What does it say?"

Anna frowned back at Elsa a moment, but then opened the letter back up from its balled form, smoothing it a bit on her knee. "Some idiot, and I'm basing that on the spelling…" holding the letter up and then turning it on an angle to follow the text, Anna continued, "and the grammar, says Arendelle shouldn't be ruled by a witch... Sorcerers are evil… Well which is it, witch or sorcerer?... and you'll be the next Malificent." Anna dropped the letter back onto the desk, "Well, at least he's read his history."

Anna crossed her arms across her middle to keep warm, because the temperature had suddenly dropped, and a drizzle of sharp, freezing rain had started to fall in the office. She knew that was not a good sign, and tried to move things along. "What do you have?"

Out of a packet, Elsa pulled a handful of thick sheets of paper and a note, clipped to the top. Pulling the note off, she saw a child's drawing, of herself, standing on in the castle courtyard, her hands raised with a giant snowflake in the sky, surrounded by other people who were all shown to be smiling. The next one, much simpler, showed her sitting on a throne made of snow, a bright white ice crown on her head, holding hands with Anna who stood next to her. The rest were similar. The note was from a teacher in a school in Arendelle town, explaining that her class had insisted on this class project.

And the weather in the office changed to big, fluffy snowflakes.

By the time Elsa was done looking though the drawings, Anna had finished making a little Olaf on her desk. Laughing, Elsa said, "So, lunch in town?"

"Thought you'd never ask!"


	5. Chapter 5 - Ice Town

**Chapter 5 – Ice Town**

It was a sunny summer Arendelle afternoon in which Elsa and Anna enjoyed an afternoon off. Lunch had been at a restaurant in the center of town that Gerda, the head housekeeper of the castle, had recommended, saying it would be able to cater to the tastes of both the Queen and the Princess. And so Elsa has a selection of fish, served cold (of course,) and cheeses, along with some pickled vegetables, and Anna had a sandwich.

After thirteen years of never seeing their royal family, the town population was now quite taken with seeing them walking about freely. (A few guards accompanied them, of course, one of whom also was tasked with carrying along some coins to pay minor expenses, those too small to be worth billing to the castle.) As they would turn each new corner, there would be cries of "The Queen! Princess Anna!" as some people would clear the way to let them through, while others would approach to greet them. While Anna seemed to take to socializing quite naturally, it still made Elsa a bit nervous. Not so much that she was worried about controlling her powers anymore, though she did ice up one street a bit when startled by a barking dog, but more simply because she had grown to be a more private person during her years of isolation.

While taking lessons from Papa, she knew that one day, as Queen, she would need to meet with people regularly and frequently. Some of whom she would know, like the King's (and one day Queen's) Council, and many that she would not, when holding court or meeting with foreign dignitaries. It was part of the job, and she had resolved herself to be able to do it, if only she could learn to control her curse. At least that was how she thought about it in those past years past. Today, she felt somewhat more comfortable meeting people, though she would not describe it as eager to meet them. She had imagined at times, that had she not been born to royalty, she would probably find herself in a quiet career, accounting perhaps, or maybe a mathematics tutor.

But she was Arendelle's queen, and she would serve her people to best of her ability. However, recent events have revealed abilities that she possessed beyond those of any other current monarch, and Elsa did wonder how they might one day come into play.

Turning down what was known as Needle Street, where a good number of tailors and dress shops gathered, Elsa beheld a site that rather startled her. "Is that—" Elsa started.

Anna grabbed Elsa's arm and yelled out, "It's your ice dress! Well it's not _your_ ice dress, and it's not made of ice… but it's your ice dress!"

Elsa had since switched back to her more conservative dresses, feeling it was more appropriate as queen, though she had practiced making a few new ice dresses in private with Anna. And, of course, Elsa could not have helped noticing the looks she had been getting from people while she continued to wear the ice dress. Especially from the men. So she had decided to save it for more special occasions.

Anna dragged Elsa into the dress shop bearing a sign titled "Madame Sylvie", saying she wanted to get a closer look. Inside, they saw three women. Two, one with blond hair and the other light brown, were probably about Elsa's age, give or take a year, and given their similarity, probably sisters. One was standing on a stool wearing a new but still ill-fitting dress, while the third, with dark hair a good number more years, knelt on the ground, pinning the hem of the first girl's new dress. And it _was_ a copy of Elsa's ice dress.

As the door opened, a bell rang, drawing the women's attention and breaking their conversation. The seamstress also turned, and upon noticing the identity of her new customers, dropped her pins in surprise. "Your Majesty!" said the older women, as she clumsily tried to get to get feet and curtsey. The other two women were able to manage their curtsies more successfully, even though one was still perched on a stool.

"Um, hello—" started Elsa, not really sure what to say. But Anna just strode right up to girl on the stool, and turned back to Elsa, declaring, "See! It IS your dress."

In the meantime, the seamstress had gotten herself collected. Putting on an air of sophistication, and a slight French accent, she addressed Elsa, "Yes, your Majesty, your…" she paused briefly to come up with the right description, "_post-coronation_ gown has become quite popular among the mademoiselles in the city. I believe at least three other couturiers are offering their own version." Adding almost dismissively, "And a number of hack shops as well, but that cannot be helped."

The woman standing on the ground pulled her sister down from the stool, thinking it quite inappropriate for her to be standing over the queen like that. But that didn't stop her from speaking, "Girls are wearing it to all the parties, ma'am. They say that if there aren't at least two girls wearing ice dresses, the party is a failure. I heard about a party last night where _everyone_ wore a Queen Elsa dress!"

Stepping towards Elsa, the seamstress reclaimed the conversation, "Your Majesty, normally, here in the northern cities, we take our lead in fashion from the continent, from Paris" which she pronounced _Par-ee_, "and Milan. But you and your dress make a great statement." She looked over Elsa's current, much plainer dress. "Your Majesty, I have some ideas, and with your beautiful figure, we could do some great work together. Bring the whole world's attention to Arendelle!"

Elsa shook her head in disbelief. As if it wasn't enough that the whole world would now be worrying about her powers, they should also be interested in what she was wearing?

The girl in the faux-ice-dress spoke up again, a bit hesitantly, "Your Majesty… we're having a party this Friday, to celebrate your coronation, and I wondered if you would like to attend? Princess Anna too, of course! It was supposed to happen on Coronation Day, but it didn't happen because of the Big Freeze—" Her sister tugged hard on her sleeve and hissed at her "Helga!" But Helga misinterpreted it, and spoke up, "Oh, I can tell everyone to not wear their ice dress if you want to wear the real one!"

Her sister blushed, horribly embarrassed, and started to say, "I'm sorr—"

But Anna jumped in, "Will there be chocolate?"

Helga paused a moment due to the unexpected question. "Sure, we'll have chocolate."

Anna turned to Elsa, grabbing both of her hands. "Can we go? I'm sure it will go better than the last party, it _has_ to! And I promise I won't get engaged to anybody! Please?"

Elsa looked into Anna's eyes and any idea of refusal melted away.

Elsa looked up and addressed the two sisters, "What are your names?"

"Helga Alweign, ma'am. And this is my sister Britta." she replied.

"Olvar Alweign is your father?"

Both Helga and Britta nodded. Olvar Alweign was the owner of a number of businesses in the city, and the Alweign family had a long history in Arendelle. He also vocally supported King Agdar during the long years of the closed gates when many others criticized the King for his family's mysterious reclusiveness.

"Thank you. Please send the event details to the castle."

And as Elsa was moving to leave, Anna turned to Madame Sylvie, "And we'll be back to talk about those dresses!"

* * *

><p>Over the next few hours, Elsa and Anna managed to collect two new silk scarves, a necklace for Anna, a decorative paper holder engraved with the shape of a snowflake for Elsa, a bundle of ribbon in different colors for tying or threading their hair, about a pound of chocolate and another pound of nuts and dried fruit, five books, and a hat Anna wanted to give to Kristoff. A quite successful endeavor, thought Anna. A quite exhausting one, thought Elsa.<p>

At every stop, and usually several times between, there was the usual crowd of people wanting to meet their queen and princess. Lots of hellos, lovely day, and other small talk, though she did have one informative conversation with a merchant about trade and tariffs. So Elsa felt quite justified that she had earned their current respite, a stop at a sidewalk café for tea and a small snack.

As Elsa quietly enjoyed her cup of tea, and Anna chattered on about the day, a little girl ran up from the street, right past the guard, and up to their table, calling out "Magic Queen, make it snow! Magic Queen, make it snow!"

Elsa turned to her visitor, a little girl in a blue dress with blond hair tied at the top with a white bow. "Hello little one. What's your name?"

The girl responded slowly and carefully, "Ellasandra." Then continued, eagerly, "Can you make it snow? Please?"

From the edge of the crowd came a voice, calling out "Ellie! Ellie!" A blond women in a brown and red dress, presumably the girl's mother, was being held back by the guard. Elsa waved her guard to let the woman through, and she rushed up, quickly scooping up her daughter.

Clumsily trying to curtsy while holding her daughter, the woman said, "Your majesty, I am so sorry. She saw you and just went running. Ever since your coronation and the, um, weather, you are all she will talk about."

Elsa gripped her left hand in her right, feeling a bit self-conscious. "Please forgive me for that, the freezing. I never meant to do any harm—"

But the women jumped in, "Oh no, it was no trouble. No worse than any other good Arendelle cold spell. It was just one day, too. We used up a week's worth of our cooking stove wood to keep warm, but the extra wood you sent around the town made up for that."

The Lord Mayor of Arendelle town, Pitar Svarnhalt, appointed to the post by King Agdar just two months before the fateful trip, had reported to Elsa on the impact that the Big Freeze had on the town and the surrounding farms. Most people already had food, and only had to get their winter clothes out of storage. The biggest impact had been, as mentioned, a drastic increase in the need for firewood. In summer, the wood would generally be used just for cooking and hot water for cleaning, so most homes had much less on hand than they would in the winter. Elsa had given instruction to the wood-cutters guild to gather as much as they could for the next week, and to distribute it around the town and farms, all charges to be paid by the crown.

Ellasandra's mother continued, "The children all loved it, playing in snow in the middle of summer. Ellie cried when it all flew away."

Elsa was a bit flustered by all this. Certainly, the events surrounding her "eternal winter" had been very traumatic to herself and Anna, and she projected that outward, believing that it had been terrible for everyone in Arendelle. To hear that people, _children_, had actually enjoyed themselves was a bit startling.

Elsa felt a poke on her arm, Anna getting her attention. Her hands held up in front of her, Anna wiggled her fingers, then mimed throwing something into the air.

Smiling, Elsa leaned over to Ellasandra and whispered, "Are you ready?"

* * *

><p>Heading north from Arendelle town and then east up and into the mountains, after about four hours of travel one will reach the town officially known as Hattfjelldal. But to Kristoff, other ice harvesters, and anyone else living in the mountains, it was known as Ice Town.<p>

It didn't have walls or any real border. At first there were a few storage buildings off the dirt road, then a workshop, a stockyard, finally a house or two, an inn, and then finally you could say you were in Ice Town. One main road cut through the town, following the curve of the mountain terrace, buildings on either side, bordered by a steep climb on one side and a rapid drop on the other.

The town hugged the northeast side of the mountain, and so, despite the long summer days, it was already getting dark by the time Kristoff and Sven arrived. They finally stopped at an inn, Dag's Place as most called it. Dag knew Kristoff's father, and after Kristoff's father was gone, Dag would usually let young Kristoff stay in a spare room. That was until Dag got married and his wife didn't like the looks of that no-good stray kid. After that he could at least sack out in the stables when he needed to, but by then, Kristoff was old enough to start fending for himself. Still, Kristoff never forgot his kindness.

Sven pulled the sled, still on wheels for now, around the side where a few others were stowed. Kristoff unhooked Sven and led him to the stables. Dag's was a smaller establishment, and so didn't have anyone handling the stables. It was mostly do-it-yourself, with some help from Dag or his son, if you needed it. But Kristoff had been taking care of Sven for forever and didn't need any help. After getting Sven settled in a stall and sharing a few carrots, Kristoff headed into the commons room.

The smells of food wafted over Kristoff as he entered, and saw the small crowd. There were about a dozen people, mostly men, mostly ice-men. Many were having dinner, some kind of chicken stew from the smell, and most were drinking. Kristoff approached the bar.

"Hail, Prince Kristoff!" called out a voice from behind the bar.

"Cut it out, Dag," muttered Kristoff.

"Heh, fine. So, what brings _Sir Kristoff_ to this backwoods little town?"

Kristoff shook his head to Dag's teasing. "Working. I'm still an ice-man."

"Some crazy stories coming from downhill." _Downhill_ what was Icetowners called Arendelle town. "You and the princess, huh?"

"Well, I guess. I mean, we only just met last week. But she's something special."

"Felicia will be jealous," Dag joked. Felicia was his thirteen year old daughter, who had a bit of a crush on Kristoff. Dag pulled a draught into a mug and pushed it over to Kristoff. "You want dinner?"

"Thanks. Please," replied Kristoff. He headed over to a nearby table, sat, and started on his beer.

After taking care of a few other tables, Dag came to Kristoff's table with a bowl full of stew, spoon, a hunk of bread, and a two more beers. Sitting down and taking a sip of his own, Dag then spoke up, "And what about Yvonn?"

Kristoff put down his spoon, looking a bit pained. "What about her? It's been over a year. And she broke it off, not me."

Dag shrugged. "I know. I guess she didn't think you would actually move on."

Kristoff continued, a bit angrily, "What did she expect? Ice harvesting is what I do and she knew that. Hell, her father and his brother are ice harvesters, too, so she knew what the life was like!"

Dag shrugged again, "But they're guild men, so they work the schedules and are in town for a time between trips. You're a loner, which is why you're here at my place, not at the 'Beard." _Odin's Beard_ was a large inn in the center of town, and is where _guild_ ice-men usually partook. Dag's, and a few others on the edge of town, was where the independents stayed.

Kristoff slumped back in his chair, a bit despondent. "I asked her once, you know. To marry me. But she said not yet, and then she… is she doing okay?"

"I've seen her a couple times, seems all right. Nobody new, though. Åsta would have said something." Dag's wife, Åsta, handled the supplies for the inn, and had a lot more contact with the town, and knew a little something about everyone.

Kristoff resumed work on the bowl, and so Dag stood up. "I'll leave you too it. The room at the end is open if you want it."

"Thanks," mumbled Kristoff through a mouthful of bread.

Dag laughed, "I hope your princess appreciates your table manners."

Kristoff laughed back, 'You should see _hers_."


	6. Chapter 6 - Kissed by a Troll

**Chapter 6 – Kissed by a Troll**

After a late, private dinner for just the two of them, Elsa and Anna had retired to Anna's room. Since their eventful reunion a week ago, while Elsa would often be occupied with her duties as queen —"Queen-stuff" as Anna put it— during the day, the sisters had spent every evening together. Two of the nights Anna had even slept over in Elsa's rooms.

Despite her elevation to Queen regnant, Elsa rebuffed any suggestions that she move into the suite of rooms her parents, the late King and Queen, had used. Even after three years, Elsa still felt the loss sharply any time she passed the doors to her parents' rooms. Therefore the rooms remained unused, the furniture covered, the clothing crated. Perhaps when she married, the castle staff had since decided.

Anna's rooms had not changed much since they were both Anna's and Elsa's when they were little. Before the accident. Before the separation. Where Elsa's bed had been, there was now a large wardrobe and a standing mirror. When Elsa had returned to Anna's rooms for the first time, she had found it difficult to even enter. Despite mentally reciting _"Conceal. Don't feel." _Elsa was too overcome with emotions and memories. But that night, Anna was right there, with her. And with her, she pushed through, now determined to put aside the old memories, and make new ones.

This night, Anna was sitting at her vanity desk, going on about their day, and anything else they came to mind, while Elsa combed out her hair.

"—and those necklaces in the store on Kystveien St., they were all so nice, but I just _couldn't_ decide if I liked the emeralds or the rubies, but then I saw the price and, wow, I really don't know how much things cost, I guess, but didn't that seem to be a lot? I know we just get everything we need from the castle, food and clothes and stuff, and I never have to pay for it. But I suppose as queen, you actually get lists of everything we are buying and how much it all costs and I think we can't be that bad, since it's just two of us, not a big family like in the Southern Isles. What's so special about them, anyway, they're just a bunch of islands. It's not like they're a big kingdom on the continent, so they can't have all that much stuff to trade, right? Look at all the things that we get here in Arendelle from all the countries all over, clothes, jewelry, frying pans, furniture. Do you think I should get some new furniture? Now that the gates are open and more people are coming into the castle? Well, it's not like they'll be coming into _my_ room, but maybe for the sittings rooms, or the dining room, or the throne room. But not the throne! We can't get a new throne, that's yours, so we have to keep that. But it sure doesn't look comfortable, do you need a cushion for when you have to sit on it for a long time? I'm sure we could ask Gerda to get one for you. There were some really pretty cushions in that store we went to near the docks that had the chairs and couches. Did you see the rugs they had? The designs were so complex and interesting, and they come from _really_ far away. I rubbed my hand across one and felt _so_ smooth, not like any of the cloth we use here in Arendelle, and so much more colorful. Like the ribbons we got for our hair, they're really pretty. The blue ones would look great for you, especially when you wear your official "I'm the Queen" dress. I'm not sure if I like the green or the purple better, but I could maybe twist them and use both, since they're the colors for Arendelle. The red is pretty, but I can't use that in _my _hair, but it might be neat to use one white one and thread it through my hair on the right side, to make it look kind of the way it used to. It's funny isn't it, after I melted, my hair became all red, no more white stripe. I've had the white stripe for as long as I can remember. I used to tell people I dreamt I was kissed by a troll, but now I know… Elsa?"

Noticing that her sister had stopped brushing her hair a few sentences back, Anna turned around towards Elsa. Elsa had taken a step back and, clutching her hands together, appeared to be on the verge of tears.

"What's wrong?" asked Anna, getting up from her chair.

"It's my fault!" cried Elsa, "When we were little, still together in this room, we would play together all the time, with my powers. You used to know about them, and we would make snowmen in the ballroom."

Anna stared at Elsa, not quite comprehending what she was hearing.

Elsa continued, sobbing, "We were playing one night, you couldn't sleep and so we went to build a snowman, and we were playing, you were jumping from snow pile to snow pile and I couldn't keep up. Then I slipped and hit you with my power, in the head which changed the color."

Anna touched the right side of her head, where the white lock of hair used to be.

Now, with tears pouring, Elsa said, "You wouldn't wake up, so Papa took us into the mountains to see the trolls, and they were able to help you, but they said my power was dangerous, so they took away your memories of it. I had to stay away from you, so you would be safe. I couldn't let that happen again, couldn't let you get hurt, so I had to push you away all this time, all those years. Anna, I am so sorry. I never wanted to be apart from you for so long, but I couldn't control my powers. I never meant to hurt you. I'm so sorry!"

Anna stood still for a few seconds, processing the new revelations—

"Kristoff Bjorgman!" Anna suddenly yelled, angrily.

This startled Elsa, so much that she stopped crying, not understanding Anna's outburst.

"He knew!" Anna continued with just as much energy.

"…um, trolls?" muttered Elsa, confused.

"He actually told me. He knew it was us!" Anna now had a full head of steam.

"What does this have to do with Kristoff?"

Anna took a deep breath, then explained, "After our, um, encounter on the North Mountain, my hair was starting to turn all white, and Kristoff said _his family_ would be able to help. He said he'd seen them do it before. I didn't question him about it right then, I just thought he was saying they were good at helping people with herbs and stuff, and I didn't exactly have anywhere else to go. But it turns out his _family_ was the trolls! So now, _really?_ He's seen them do it before? How many other times could one have seen trolls help someone who's been zapped with a freeze ray? That was us! He. Was. There! That ice brained, frozen hearted… grr! It was a long time ago, he was little too, so maybe he didn't know _then_, but it's been thirteen years! In all the time he never asked, _So, who were those people? Just the King and his family, but never mind,_ or it never came up in conversation, _Hey remember the time when we helped the princesses?_ Yeah, right. He knew. He knew _and he didn't tell me!_"

Anna shook her fist in the air in front of her, "He's lucky he's halfway up the mountain right now, or we'd be having some choice words right now."

* * *

><p>It had taken another hour of Anna assuring Elsa that she knew that both times she hurt her were accidents and that she forgave her, and Elsa calming Anna down about Kristoff so she didn't go charging up the mountain right then, before things were settled enough that Elsa could return to her own rooms to sleep. Given the recent revelations, Elsa would have liked to stay with Anna, but she had a Queen's Council meeting first thing in the morning, the first <em>Queen's<em> Council, the first since her coronation, and the first one where she would actually be making the final decisions. Elsa wanted to be well rested for that, and if she stayed with Anna any longer, they would likely be up all night. So only after further promises of meeting again once the council was concluded did Anna let Elsa go.

But after Elsa left, Anna could not get to sleep. Thoughts continued to race through her mind, about Kristoff and the trolls, about the night after the coronation, and the night that she could not remember, so long ago. Something didn't add up, she was sure, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She would talk to Elsa about it tomorrow. Elsa was good with puzzles (something she _did_ remember from their childhood, and rediscovered during the last week) and should be able to help her find the missing pieces.

Kristoff also could not easily get to sleep. He laid in the relative comfort of a bed in Dag's inn, in a small room obviously not normally used for guests, given the crates and baskets stacked along one wall, but quite a bargain given that Dag would not take his money. Money was rarely easy to come by, working as an independent. But even though it seemed to no longer be an issue, given his new royally-appointed position, it still would have felt alien to him to stay in one of the big, fancy, _expensive_ rooms upstairs. It just wasn't him. And so he laid there, thinking about the changes in his life, of ice harvesting, of the Queen, and, of course, of Anna.

* * *

><p>As requested, Elsa was woken early, and with a light breakfast accompanied by a pot of strong tea, Elsa got ready for the day. Since today would be Elsa's first Queen's Council meeting, she chose to wear what Anna had titled her "I'm the Queen" dress. It bore the same colors as her coronations dress, but had a much less restrictive, one could say less <em>protective<em>, cut. Where her coronation dress said "_Conceal, don't feel_," and her ice dress verily shouted "_Queen of the Ice and Snow_," this dress proudly stated "_Queen Elsa of Arendelle."_ Where her coronation dress covered her up to her neck, this dress hung comfortably on her shoulders and revealed a modest décolletages, and while her ice dress' skirt was quite sheer with a high slit, her new dress was a darker teal, though it was still fitted flatteringly to her waist and hips.

After Elsa had decided to put away the ice dress, Anna had gone to Gerda to bring in dress-maker, saying that Elsa's old dresses just weren't _her_ anymore, that she needed a new look that fit the new Queen of Arendelle who was not hiding behind the closed gates any more. And with so much of Anna's enthusiasm behind it, it was impossible for Elsa to refuse her. While most of her older, more tailored, dresses could be simply altered, Anna was quite inspired for one particular dress, which ultimately wound up a custom job. This was her "I'm the Queen" dress, and had to admit, she was quite taken with it.

So after dressing and arranging her hair, today braided and pinned high, much like she wore it at her coronation, there was one more important element. She had left her crown in her ice palace, high up on the North Mountain, and had for the last week, when she needed it, been using the tiara that Papa had given her on her eighteenth birthday, to commemorate her officially becoming the Crown Princess. But now, for this occasion, that would not do. And so Elsa turned to her mirror, focused on her power and drew upon the very essence of cold and ice. Mentally, she envisioned the crown that was placed upon her head at her coronation, but instead of terrestrial metals and gems, it was comprised of ice made of the purest, crystalline waters. A moment later, Elsa could feel the weight and the coolness of her new crown on her head, and admired how it glistened and shimmered as the sunlight fell upon it. She was the Queen of Arendelle, but she was more than that, too, and best that it not be forgotten.

As Elsa arrived at the throne room, Master Kai announced her, "Lords and Ladies, her Majesty, Queen Elsa of Arendelle!" The throne room was arranged as it had been for the meetings of the Regency Council for the last three years, a set of tables forming an arc behind which sat the five people serving. Previously, however, there would have been an additional table, set at the focus of the arc, where Crown Princess Elsa had sat. Today that table was absent, and the focus of the arc was now the dais where the thrones stood. Where Elsa, Queen of Arendelle would now sit.

The same five individuals who had sat at the tables one month ago now stood, bowing and curtseying as Elsa entered. She strode smoothly across the floor, took the two steps up the platform and settled herself in the larger of the two thrones. Nodding to the five at the tables, Queen Elsa gave them permission to once again sit down. So far, this was the easy part. Papa had practiced this ceremony with her a number of times after her eighteenth birthday, but Papa was gone before he could teach her more. So Elsa would have to depend on her own wits from here on out.

And yes, the throne could use a cushion.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Queen's Council

**Chapter 7 – The Queen's Council**

While she had officially been Queen of Arendelle for a week and a day already, it was now that the real work of monarch would begin, conferring with her council and making rulings under the authority of the crown. Well, in a moment.

Elsa addressed the five people sitting at the tables across from her, "Lady, Gentlemen. I, Elsa, Queen of Arendelle, hereby officially dissolve the Regency Council and thank the members for their honorable service. You are dismissed."

A formality, of course, but you cannot have both a Queen and a Regency. And by Arendelle law, the newly raised monarch must dismiss the regency, thus officially assuming the authority of the Crown. And, of course, it is only the crowned monarch who has the authority to dismiss the regency, making it rather circular. But that's the law.

Although she said they were dismissed, none of the five actually left. It was only in their roles as members of the _regency_ council that they were dismissed. Each had also received a letter from the Queen, inviting them to be the inaugural members of the Queen's Council.

And so, after an appropriate pause, Elsa address them again, "Lady, Gentlemen. Each of you have been invited to meet with me as required, to provide conference and advice, and to serve the kingdom with your abilities and expertise. If any of you do not wish to accept, you have my thanks, and my leave to depart."

Normally, this would also just be a formality, but given the _unusual_ events surrounding the coronation, Elsa could not assume that everyone would still be willing to serve under her. Some, perhaps, maybe share the opinions of the Duke of Weselton and condemn her and her abilities.

The man in the center stood. A cool breeze wafted gently through the room, as Elsa tensed, waiting to hear what he would say. "Your Majesty. Speaking for myself and on behalf of my compatriots, we accept your kind invitation, and are eager to provide our council as required."

Elsa exhaled. "Thank you." Then, turning to her right, "Master Lefferson, please take the roll."

As the first Queen's Council approached, Elsa had considered whether she would require any assistance in managing her duties as Queen. Her father had had a personal secretary who had assisted him with his paperwork, correspondence, and scheduling. Elsa had already begun dealing with the many tasks she needed to handle as Queen, and had been able to manage well enough so far. But, she also knew, having observed her father during her lessons, that it would increase significantly soon enough, and so had resigned herself to engaging an assistant of her own. Three days ago, she had approached Kai to ask him to find some candidates, but it seemed the task had already been taken care of. King Adgar's secretary, Conrad Lefferson, had served for a number of years, retiring when the King and Queen were lost. Kai informed Elsa that earlier that day, Conrad Lefferson's son, Yakob Lefferson, had reported to the castle, ready to assume his father's post, just as Elsa was assuming hers.

Yakob Lefferson began as instructed, calling out, "Members of the Queen's Council –"

"Hammand Jaegerhold, High Priest of Arendelle." While Arendelle allowed its people to worship as they wished, the official religion of the kingdom was the Æsir, the old Norse gods. In the early days of Arendelle, worship was done at a sacred grove just outside the village, but over the years, as the kingdom and the city grew, a temple was built, then expanded, and after burning down in a fire a little over two hundred years ago, a cathedral was built in its place. As high priest, the coronation ceremony was his to administer, gloves or no gloves.

"Thorvald Stoltenberg, Guildmaster of Shipwrights." A tall, lanky man, with grey hair and a short grey beard, Stoltenberg was the leader of the Shipwrights, one of the over twenty officially recognized guilds that operated in the kingdom. Representing the business interests of the people of Arendelle, Stoltenberg would serve for only six months on the Queen's Council, before the position would rotate to another guildmaster. This was a tradition, agreed upon by the collected guilds and King Yorrick over fifty years ago, so that no one guild's interest would dominate.

"Arven Skarsgård, Minister of Commerce and Trade." During the closed-gates years, King Adgar would not meet with foreign officials, and therefore had worked closely with Skarsgård and his predecessors to represent Arendelle to other states and kingdoms. Adgar had chosen to emphasize Arendelle's mercantile interests during those years, to compensate for its diminished diplomatic outreach. Skarsgård had proven himself to be well suited for his position, and Arendelle's economy had flourished during that time.

"Anders Ørsted, Admiral of the Navy." Ørsted presented an imposing figure, dressed sharply in his blue naval uniform, solidly built, dark hair with grey streaks at his temples. Among Arendelle's limited armed forces, the Navy was the most important, serving to defend the kingdom from hostiles, and to protect the shipping lanes to and from the kingdom. These days, that primarily meant fighting off pirates and other raiders. The other military forces of Arendelle were the Militia, which contained specialized alpine units, and whose main mission was controlling the kingdom's land borders. Significantly smaller than the navy, the Commander of the Militia reported to the Admiral of the Navy. The monarch of Arendelle, now Queen Elsa, was the supreme commander of Arendelle's military forces. Many of Arendelle's kings, had served in the navy or militia prior to their elevation, the most recent being King Yorrick, Adgar's father. Elsa's knowledge of military matters, however, was based entirely on her readings, and she hoped this would not cause any problems.

"Åse Kleveland, no portfolio." Though now quite advanced in years, Åse Kleveland never seemed to lack for energy, or for an opinion. She was a small woman with starkly white hair, piercing green eyes, and always very well dressed, though distinctly decades out of style. It was a matter of some controversy, twenty-seven years ago, when, shortly after his coronation, King Adgar appointed her to his King's Council, but did not assign to her any specific position. At the time, she was already a grandmother and a widow twice over, and no one could figure out why Adgar has appointed her; he would only say that she was the conscience of the kingdom. Some believed that she was related to the royal family in some way, but no one could ever find any connection. Many years later, Elsa had asked her father about her, and Adgar just said that years ago, she had taught him an important lesson about what it would mean to be king.

Pausing a moment, Lefferson continued, "Servants of the Crown –"

While the members of King's or Queen's Council were appointed by the monarch, their role was to advise their liege on behalf of the people and other interests of kingdom. There needed to be, therefore, those who advocated for the interest and wellbeing of the Crown itself, that is, for the monarch, his or her family, and their property and holdings.

"Kai Halverson, Seneschal of the Keep." Standing to the left of the throne dais, stood Master Kai. He had started working in Arendelle castle when he was a young man, and had worked his way up from a low-ranking porter, and rising, due to his competence and loyalty, eventually to Master Butler, and finally to Seneschal, in charge of all matters regarding the castle, its grounds and associated sub-buildings, and its staff. This role had been quite reduced when the gates were closed thirteen years ago, but that also made it all the more important that he and his now limited staff could handle all the functions of the castle. All the functions, of course, save one…

"Nicolai Krog, Captain of the Guard." That being the physical safety of the monarch, her family, and that of the castle. The Captain of the Guard had the same level of authority as the Seneschal, requiring a balance between their two roles. The Guard were totally separate from the Militia, serving distinctly different missions, though it was not uncommon for men retiring from the militia, or the navy, to then join the Castle Guard. Captain Krog himself had done so, having served in the Militia for over twenty years, eventually mustering out as a Captain in the Militia four years ago, to become a Lieutenant in the Guard, and after two years, upon the old Captain's retirement, rising to Captain himself. Now in his mid-forties, he stood tall in his green Guard uniform, short, black hair and a van-dyke beard. Captain Krog stood to the right of the dais, a ceremonial, but still quite functional, sword hanging from his left hip, and a dagger sheathed on the right.

"Yakob Lefferson, Secretary to the Queen." Lefferson himself sat at a small table ahead and to the right of the dais, a vial of ink to one side and a ledger book open in the middle, into which he rapidly scribed his notes. He was a stout man with dark curly hair and a closely trimmed full beard, spectacles balanced on his nose. He was a few years older than Elsa, and a few inches shorter.

"Her Majesty, Queen Elsa of Arendelle." Elsa sat in the larger of the two thrones that adorned the dais, since it was the one for the King or Queen regnant. To her right was another, slightly smaller throne. When her father was king, the other throne would be used by her mother, the Queen. Elsa could remember her parents sitting in their thrones, many years ago, before they closed the gates. They weren't used much after that. Now that she was Queen, and the gates were open, the throne room would get much more use than it had. Elsa in the greater throne, and, for now, no one in the lesser. When she married, should she marry, her prince consort would sit there, to assist her in her royal duties. Or perhaps not. Elsa had studied the history of the royal line of Arendelle, and knew that there had been a number of royal spouses who had chosen to not involve themselves in the management of the kingdom, focusing on family and social matters, as well as a number of Kings who had remained bachelors throughout their life, and one unmarried Queen. Some of those monarchs had allowed the Crown Prince or Princess to occupy the lesser throne. Elsa had herself considered eventually inviting Anna to sit with her in the future, since she was now, and for the foreseeable future, her heir.

For the past three years, these five individuals (or another five, there had been a few changes during the interregnum,) had made the decisions for the kingdom, with then Crown Princess Elsa only being asked for advice or opinion, but not truly needing anything from her to take any action. They had always been, for the most part, polite and respectful to her during that time. Though there had been one man who had been outright rude and insulting towards her, the former Guildmaster of Longshoreman and Stevedores, belittling her for both her age and her sex. However, his term on the council ended abruptly and quickly, for reasons never made clear, and his replacement, the Chief of the League of Postal Carriers and Package Handlers, was always _particularly_ polite to both Elsa and Lady Kleveland.

But now the situation was reversed. As Queen, Elsa alone had the authority to make decisions or take action; the council merely advised. A weighty and significant responsibility, and Elsa hoped she would be up to the task. Especially now that the revelation of her powers would potentially complicate that task.

* * *

><p>The man quietly entered the Duke's office through the hidden panel, resealing it behind him. Standing in the shadowed corner, he cleared his throat to get the Duke's attention.<p>

"What? Oh, good, it's you," said the Duke to the man.

"You summoned me, your Grace, and I came. How may I serve you?"

"You know what happened, yes? In Arendelle? What they did to me? What _she_ did?" the Duke excitedly queried his visitor.

"Queen Elsa and the ice? Yes, I have heard," the man calmly replied.

"Sorcery! Unholy magic! She tried to kill me! And now she thinks she can ruin me. Well, I won't have it. Here!" The Duke of Wesselton thrust a stack of paper at the man. The man took two steps, closing the distance between them, took the papers and began reading it.

"Well?" demanded the Duke, after only a few seconds.

"Are you sure of this, my Grace? It will require cashing in many favors, and most will not be eager to participate."

"That's why I gave you the list! It itemizes what you need to tell or do for each one to get them to agree. I want them all. If any say no, I will ruin them!"

"Yes, your Grace."

"And here. While you're handling the list, have some of your men take care of these as well." The Duke pressed another stack of paper at the man.

Paging through the second sheaf, the man replied, "And what should be done with them?"

"Take them to the Compound. That will keep them safe, and we can see what use they might be."

"Yes, your Grace."

The man stood patiently as the Duke seemed to be chewing his mustache, lost in thought.

"Will there be anything else, your Grace?" asked the man.

"What? No, that's all. You may go."

The man bowed slightly, replying "Yes, your Grace," turned, and slipped out the same way he entered.

On the other side of the secret door, Avram Bashir contemplated his situation. So far, his association with the Duke of Wesselton had proven profitable and allowed him to pursue his vocation with little restriction. But with the Duke's recent adoption of this austere, nearly puritanical, new creed going about the continent, and now his fixation over Arendelle and its Queen, he wondered if it was nearing time to sever their relationship. And of course, said separation would likely involve an unidentifiable dagger, or perhaps poison. One certainly cannot leave loose ends or waggling tongues when ending a situation such as theirs. But Bashir decided to play out this latest assignment; its results would likely determine the Duke's future, one way or the other.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

And with the publication of chapter 6, the number of views/visitors jumped from only several hundred to well over a thousand. Whatever anyone has done or shared to increase the attention to my story, thank you very much. I'm glad people are enjoying it.


	8. Chapter 8 - Counsel of the Queen

**Chapter 8 – Counsel of the Queen**

The throne room was quiet, its inhabitants all waiting for Elsa to start things. For the past three years, the council led their own meetings, Elsa listening in, asking the occasional question, but a passive participant. Now, she was the leader. So Elsa took a steadying breath, and got things started.

"Master Skarsgård, you have something to report?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," he began. "According to your instructions, any mercantile or diplomatic ships bearing the flag of the Duchy of Wesselton were to be turned away and not be permitted to dock at our ports or along our shores. These instructions were given to Admiral Ørsted and passed along to the fleet captains."

The admiral picked up from there, "During the first five days, we turned away a total of six ships flagged by Wesselton. One ship, the _Mercator_, was rather insistent, however. It was nearly necessary to board it before it would turn away. Had that occurred, if we're not at war now, I'm sure we would be."

Minister Skarsgård continued, "After that, however, something changed. Ships that we have in our logs as having flown Wesselton in the past, now came in to port with the flag of Kungbacka."

"That was our intention, was it not?" Elsa queried. "That merchants stop supporting Wesselton and register their ships and do business with other states?"

Nodding, he replied, "Had they switched to, say, Oslo or Copenhagen, then we could say our plan was effective. But Kungbacka is an ally of Wesselton. Well, less of an ally and more of a vassal or puppet state."

Leaning forward, Elsa said, "Please explain."

"Kungbacka's industry is primarily agriculture. About seven years ago, they suffered a major crop failure, a fungus outbreak of some sort. They couldn't even keep their own people fed, and certainly had no surplus for trade. That's when Wessleton jumped in. He offered Kungbacka loans so they could import food, but did nothing to address the original problem, so a year later, they just needed more, and could do nothing about the original debts. Wesselton would then request favors or preferential access to their markets, and if they refused, the old debts would become due. But if the agreed, further financing would be arranged. This downward spiral continued until they could do nothing without Wesselton's approval. And thus Kungbacka becomes a puppet throne of Wesselton's."

Elsa frowned, thinking about this. She did remember hearing about the crop failure from Papa, but he had been more concerned about not letting any of Kungbacka's infected grain into Arendelle.

Skarsgård continued, "And it's just one of over a dozen kingdoms that he has control over. The current Duke's father started the practice over thirty years ago, but the Duke has really picked up the practice. Arendelle has been blessed with a good diversity of tradable goods, not over specializing, and so hasn't fallen victim to Wesselton's manipulations, though we have maintained trade agreements."

Looking to both Skarsgård and the Admiral, she asked, "And what do you propose we do about Kungbacka, then?"

"We could extend the trade ban, but it would be much harder to justify. It would make Your Majesty's new regime seem capricious."

Elsa back in the throne, right hand held to her chin in thought. After about a minute, she perked up. "Let them come," she declared.

Surprised, Minister Skarsgård spoke up, "Your Majesty?"

"The merchants are not our enemy. Arendelle welcomes them and their commerce. Let's even encourage them, perhaps a customs holiday?" Elsa glanced back to the minister, who gave a tentative nod. "Make it clear that they have options beyond that of appeasing Wesselton. Pass word along to our allies, see if they would be willing to participate as well. And just as importantly, to Wesselton's victims; they should know that they have choices, too."

Skarsgård was busily writing notes, while the Admiral sat back in his chair, arms crossed, looking pensive.

Elsa then turned to Stoltenberg, the representative of the guilds. "Master Stoltenberg, how go the repairs?" While the effects of the Great Freeze on the town were not great, they were a bit more severe on the fjord. Many ships experienced at least minor damage, several took significant damage, and two were damaged beyond repair. In the harbor, several piers were rendered non-operational by the ice, and one completely collapsed. Since the thaw, the shipbuilders and carpenters have been at non-stop work. Ships would be repaired enough to become seaworthy and return to their home ports. The owners of the ships that been totaled, however, would need to be compensated for their loss. The damage to the ports reduced the number of ships that could dock, and interfered with the regular loading and unloading of goods, the very beating heart of a seaport. The highest priority had been placed on these repairs.

Stoltenberg cleared his throat and glanced uncomfortably at some papers he had. "Slowly, Your Majesty. Only half the damaged ships have been made seaworthy again. And the work on the piers has come to a dead stop." Stoltenberg paused, seeming reluctant to continue. "The woodcutters have been working more on collecting firewood for the town, and so the greater wood needed for ship repairs and the pier has been scarce."

Elsa nodded. "That was my doing, but it is over now. The woodcutters should be able to focus on your needs."

"Aye, Your Majesty, that takes care of supplies. But there is also a labor problem. Many men simply refuse to work on the new replacement pier."

"Why?"

"Um, no one reason. Some say it's cursed, or holy, or something, and just won't come near it. The reasons keep changing each day, Your Majesty. But over the last couple days, a lot of them have gotten the idea that _you _would replace it yourself. There's a story going around that you made an ice castle on the North Mountain. And so men are saying that you are going to, or should, build a new pier with your ice, er, magic. Many of the men who started the work have even stopped." He shrugged, expressing helplessness.

Elsa blinked, somewhat stunned by what she was hearing. "They want me to build a new pier? An ice pier? Would that even work? I mean, yes, I did make an ice castle, but..." She felt like she was babbling, so she stopped to catch her breath.

Her voice crackling, Åse Kleveland finally spoke up. "The men are unsure, worried that their hard work will be destroyed again the next time Her Majesty has a tantrum." That was a bit harsh. Elsa glared at Madam Kleveland, but she seemed unaffected. "Now an ice pier is out of the question, it would never work, people and cargo slipping all over. No no. But you should do something. Arendelle is a special place, now even more so with its special Queen. These are proud Arendelle men, and they are looking for something to connect more with you. So give them something, for them and for all people coming to our shores. A grand display, in ice. A great arch, or a pavilion, something for all to see and know that they are in Arendelle and nowhere else. And not melt, of course, like your little snowman friend. You can do that, yes?"

Elsa sat there, stupefied. She wondered why her father had kept this woman on his council so long, given her attitude. But then she did seem to see right to the heart of the matter...

"Thank you. I will have to think about it."

Elsa rubbed her eyes with her hand. She had _so_ hoped this meeting would go smoothly, without any incidents, a smooth start to her reign. But no.

"Bishop Jaegerhold, how are the affairs of the temple?" asked Elsa, hoping said temple affairs were quiet and unremarkable.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he replied in calm, gentle tones. "The temple has gained popularity in the last week. The events following your coronation seem to have resulted in a resurgence in many people's devotion to the old gods. They seem quite concerned about, excuse me for saying, you, Your Majesty."

Elsa sighed. "Concerned about me, very well. And what are the people's concerns?"

"Well, Your Majesty, some feel you were sent to us by Odin, as a blessing, other are saying the same, but as a test. And there a few who suggest that you are a creation of Loki."

Elsa slumped back in her throne, feeling a bit dejected. "Very well, Bishop, tell me. What am I?" Elsa asked sardonically.

Surprised by the Queen direct question, Jaegerhold spluttered a bit before getting his words out, "What? Oh, I am in no position to make such lofty theological findings." He shook his head. "I have written down my experiences of the events surrounding Your Majesty's coronation, and sent it to several of my peers, as well as to the Circle of Elders in Lillestrøm. It is they who may make any form of official pronouncement regarding Your Majesty."

"So what do you tell the people? Do you have an opinion of your own?" demanded Elsa.

Sitting up straight, Jaegerhold made a firm declaration, "I tell the people that you are the child of King Agdar and Queen Irdun, raised with the Queen's grace and the King's wisdom. As they cherished them, they should cherish you; as they respected them, they should respect you; as they forbore judgment of the King, so should they forbear judgment of you. The source of your power, be it a blessing or curse, may be a mystery, but the wielder of that power is our Queen Elsa of Arendelle, and we love her."

Elsa's vision blurred with tears at the priest's words, moved as she was by his pronouncement.

Åse Kleveland, noticing Elsa's disconcertion, took the initiative to draw the others into conversation and give the Queen a few moments to collect herself. "Master Stoltenberg, what is this I hear about the city brewers and bakers hosting a festival in the fall?"

The guildmaster pulled his eyes from the Queen and turned to the elderly lady, "Oh, it is more than just them, it's also the vintners, inn-keepers, the musicians and actors. Even the fisherman, hunters and trappers, and the carpenters will be quite busy as it approaches. It was the Mayor's idea, to bring back the Harvest Festival. He has been working on the idea for a few years, but finally decided that this would be the year, with it being Queen Elsa's first year making it that much more special. A grand display of all of Arendelle's goods, food and drink, entertainment of all sort. With it having been canceled for fourteen years, the businesses and guilds are all quite excited."

"Yes, yes. That all sound quite lovely. A grand party. I am quite looking forward to it," declared Lady Kleveland. It was, of course, impossible that she didn't know everything about the upcoming festival already, but with a quick glance to verify that the Queen had regained her composure, she smiled back at the guildmaster, her mission accomplished.

Straightening herself on her throne, Elsa resumed the lead. "Are there any other items to report?"

The Admiral cleared his throat, "Perhaps one, Your Majesty, which you may find of interest. Marshall Sverdrup reported to me that his alpine troops have needed to rescue several parties traveling in the area of the North Mountain. Normally, that area is only traversed by experienced climbers and ice harvesters, but it seem that word of your ice palace had spread amongst the people, and some are attempting to reach the peak to see it. None appear to have been successful, however. The few who have actually reached the North Mountain reported that their way was blocked by a monstrous snow creature. The Marshall has since stationed a contingent of troops in the area to steer travelers away and assist if necessary."

The Admiral paused briefly, then continued, "The guardian, it is your creation? Like the snowman, Your Majesty?"

Elsa hesitated, not sure how much to say. "Yes, it is mine. It and Olaf are the only ones, though. If you were thinking that I could create more to be used in the militia, I'm afraid that I am not sure how I created them, and if I could do it again."

"Oh, no, Your Majesty. While it might be interesting to see, any strategy, offensive or defensive, cannot depend on a single individual. That person could be made unavailable too readily by any number of methods, rendering that strategy useless. A proper attack or defense plan must be repeatable and scalable. A single point of failure will lead to just that, failure. If, however, we could form a full unit of men with your powers, Your Majesty, that would be very different."

"Thank you, Admiral. That would be another thing to think about."

Elsa then queried the group, "Anything else?"

No one spoke up. "Very well. So you are aware, I am contemplating expanding the council, inviting Master Vogt, the Minister of Finance to join us, as well as someone to serve as Minister of the Interior and Agriculture. I have not settled on it, however, and welcome your feedback and suggestions. The crown, however, will be retaining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

There was no fixed number of members of the council, nor specific roles for the members; each King or Queen shaped it for his or her needs and that of the kingdom. In Arendelle, Foreign Affairs, the handling of diplomatic matters with other states, were usually handled by the crown, the King or Queen themselves, though on occasion, a separate Minister was appointed.

"Master Skarsgård, Admiral, please join me in my office in ten minutes. We need to discuss some matters more specifically."

Taking his cue, Captain Krog stepped up onto the dais, coming to the Queen side, and escorted Elsa out of the throne room. They were quickly followed by Masters Halverson and Lefferson, who, along with Captain Krog, would each be returning to their regular duties.

Turning down the castle hallway, Elsa hurried up the staircase, down the corridor, rushed into the library and shut the door. A moment later, there was a heavy dusting of snow on the floor. Elsa breathed steadily, regaining her nerves. She and Anna had discussed it, no more "Conceal. Don't feel," even if things get tough, and her first council meeting had been a hilly ride, but it still would be best not to freeze the throne room due to stress. But now, alone in the library, she could _let it go_, let her power flow free. After a few minutes, Elsa felt much better, and sweeping her arms up into the air, she dismissed the snow. Not fair to the castle staff to just leave it to melt on its own, quite the mess and it would ruin the wooden floors.

Stepping out into the hallway, she caught the attention of a servant, Frøya, a girl about sixteen years old, newly hired, and asked for some tea to be sent up. Elsa then went through the internal door to her office, sat down and waited for the Minister and Admiral to arrive.

* * *

><p>By the time Anna woke up, the sun had already been up for hours, and Elsa would be busy with her "Queen Stuff." Anna really wanted to talk to Elsa more about the previous night's revelations, but she also knew Elsa would be busy all morning.<p>

So first she had breakfast, by herself. It was kind of how it was, after Mama and Papa were gone and Elsa was still in hiding. Anna, alone.

But this morning, despite appearances, she wasn't _really_ alone. Okay, sure, there was no one else with her having breakfast, but she wasn't _alone_ alone. Elsa was just busy and they would be together again for lunch! Maybe. Unless her meetings and stuff longer and she had to work through lunch and into the afternoon. Fine, they would be together again _this afternoon_. Queen Stuff shouldn't take _that_ long to finish, right?

Actually, Anna had no idea how long Queen Stuff should take, and so she finished her breakfast, and decided to go to the portrait gallery, one of her favorite places to spend her time during the lonely years. It had been a little while since she was last there, the morning of Coronation Day, as she danced around the castle, imagining what it would be like with the gates open.

And so, back again, Anna chatted with the lady on the swing, the picnicking couple, and, of course, Joan. She told them about Elsa, and about Kristoff, and Olaf. And she even talked about him, Prince Hans, and unfortunately, a particular portrait that was hanging in the wrong place at the wrong time may never be the same. After hanging it back up on the wall and straightening it out the best she could, Anna decided maybe the gallery is not the best place right now, and headed back out into the castle halls.

Having decided to now go the gardens, Anna strode purposefully down the main hall to the back of castle, where she happened to cross paths with Master Kai.

"Ah, Princess Anna, I am glad to have found you. Queen Elsa asked me to tell you that she has one more meeting to complete this morning, and then she would be done with her official duties for the day."

Anna clasped her hands together in excitement, "Great! I'll go find the chef and tell him what we're going to want for lunch. Something special to celebrate her first Queen's Council!"

Kai smiled, "Yes, Your Highness, I think she would appreciate that very much." Kai then pulled a packet of papers from under his arm and handed them to Anna, "And these are for you."

Anna looked at them, not comprehending. "What is it?"

"Letters and other correspondences."

"You want me to give them Elsa?"

Kai laughed lightly, "No, Your Highness. They're for you."

"For me? No one writes to me. I'm just the spare."

"Well, perhaps you can mention that in your responses. Good day, Your Highness." And with a bow, Kai moved on down the hallway.

Anna flipped through the half dozen envelopes she now held, all addressed, in some fashion, to Princess Anna of Arendelle. Noticing a comfortable bench there in the hallway, she sat down and opened the first one.

* * *

><p>It took about an hour for Elsa, Minister Skarsgård, and Admiral Ørsted to complete their meeting, discussing their strategies. They had, for one, decided to make a serious statement to the world in offering an alternative to Wesselton; more than a reduction in customs, they would also be offering companies the ability to register their fleet with Arendelle for only a token fee, and to grant other advantages to opening trade centers in Arendelle as well. Given that this would likely aggravate Wesselton and any of its so-called allies, they also made plans increasing the patrols of Arendelle's waters and to ensure safe passage for merchants to and from Arendelle's ports. It would likely require an increase in their maritime forces, both ships and seamen. However, that increase would take time, and so messages would be sent to a number of Arendelle's allies, requesting assistance in these efforts.<p>

And, while discussing the matter of Arendelle's allies, another decision was made. A coronation would normally be an event attended by many foreign dignitaries, and would often double as a diplomatic function. However, Elsa had planned to continue her isolation even after her elevation to Queen, since she had not yet managed to gain control of her curse, and thus few invitations were send to other kingdoms. Therefore, only a handful of diplomatic persons attended, and several of them attempted to murder her and her sister. Not the best of royal summits.

But given her change of outlook, and her new international celebrity, it would be a good idea to make up for what was missed earlier. And the mayor's Harvest Festival provided an excellent pretext. She had decided that alongside the festival, the crown would be hosting a royal ball and several formal dinners, welcoming their allies and those that Arendelle would have as allies. In just under three months, Arendelle, and its royal family, small as it is, would open itself to the world, Odin help us all.

* * *

><p>After seeing the minister and admiral out, Elsa went looking for Anna. It was a little late, but Elsa hoped Anna would still be available for lunch, and then for whatever else they decided to do. But shortly after emerging from her office hallway, she encounter Master Kai.<p>

"Your Majesty, Lady Kleveland is still here in the castle, and requested to see you after your business with the Minister and Admiral was complete. I took her to the small sitting room to wait."

Curious. "Thank you, I'll go see her now. If Princess Anna is still about the castle, and hasn't already had lunch, please ask her to join me when I'm done with Lady Kleveland, and ask the chef to put something simple together."

Kai smiled, knowingly, "Yes, Your Majesty, I believe the Princess is still about. I will let her know." He bowed, and moved on about his business.

A few minutes later, Elsa arrived at the indicated sitting room, one of several rooms off of the main entrance hallway of the castle, where guests can be settled, away from other guests, crowds, or random castle traffic. Like the rest of the castle, they had not gotten much use in the last decade, but now they were in the process of being cleaned up for regular use once again. The small sitting room, given its size and convenient location, was one of the first to become functional again.

As Elsa entered, Åse Kleveland put down her cup of tea, and started to rise from her seat to curtsey, but Elsa waved her down, saying "Please don't. It's not necessary when we're in private."

Lady Kleveland settled herself back down in her seat. "A most interesting session of council, wouldn't you say? You held yourself well, quite well I think. Yes, your father would be proud."

"Thank you," Elsa replied.

"And that is a daring move you chose, your response to Weasel Town."

"The customs holiday? That's nothing really, we—" Elsa started to reply, but was cut off.

"That, and the ship registry and depot subsidies, and the royal party with the festival. Going full bore. I don't think your father would have chosen such a bold strategy, but it's good that you are your own woman."

Elsa was bit shocked. She had completed her meeting only minutes ago, and somehow this woman already knew what they had discussed.

"And you best be careful, at this summit yours. Oh, the international politics, you'll handle that just fine. Any of them give you lip, just freeze their wine and give them a look, and they'll know which way the breeze is blowing. But watch out, the council will be trying to find you some pretty spare prince to marry you to, get some little princes and princess about the place." She laughed a bit at that. "But if you decided to eschew the royals, I have a grandson who I think would suit you. A tall, good looking boy and he always listens to his mother."

Elsa shook her head. The last thing she had on her mind now was suitors. Though had her parents not closed the gates, it's likely that both she and Anna would have already had royal marriages arranged. She certainly had mixed feelings about that, though her parents' marriage was arranged and they certainly loved each other. But they did have the chance to meet and spend time together, and either could have called it off had they chosen to. Elsa was sure that her parents would have given her and Anna the same courtesy.

Lady Kleveland reached over to the side table, and pull a book from her bag, and handed it to Elsa. "Your father gave me this to read. I was going to return it, of course, but certain events… so, here it is."

Elsa looked at the book. It wasn't a published book, but something more like a ledger, originally with blank pages and light green lines. Opening it, Elsa recognized the handwriting, her father's. She looked up back at Kleveland.

"Something of memoir, or a journal. But not really, he didn't discuss day to day events, it seems to have been more of a place to discuss philosophies and moral dilemmas." She paused a moment, then continued. "He doesn't mention you and your power specifically, and he never told me himself, but now knowing, I can see that he was struggling greatly with it. The competing needs he saw in preparing you for the crown, but also to keep you hidden and safe, his love for both you and your sister. It clearly tore him up, the conflicting priorities he had to balance. All this in addition to his duties as King."

Elsa glanced back down at the book. An insight into Papa soul? She didn't know if she was brave enough to actually read it.

Åse Kleveland stood up, "Well, I best be off. I have my own family to manage. I have a grand-daughter about to give me another great-grand-child in a few days, her first, and I need to explain a few things to her and that boy she married."

And with a laugh, "Given all the excitement lately, if it's a girl, I wouldn't be surprised if she names her Elsa."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Sorry for the week's delay in posting, but work and travel got in the way. But in the end we get an extra, bonus sized chapter.

And given Frozen's popularity, how popular have the names "Elsa" and "Anna", or even "Kristoff" for boys, been over the last year? I'm sure the pre-school and kindergarten teachers will be dealing with it in a few years...


	9. Chapter 9 - Memories

**Chapter 9 – Memories**

After Elsa and Anna's surprisingly ornate lunch, the queen and princess retired to the library for some privacy. This library had been here as long as the castle stood, over six hundred years, and it is said that many of the older books were brought in from the royal family's prior stronghold. It was a great collection, and it was often opened it to visiting scholars and researchers. It contained books ranging from those of law and history that Elsa, her father, and the many monarchs before them regularly used, to tomes on science and mathematics, and many shelves of stories and other fiction.

It was a large room with several windows overlooking the courtyard, a couch and several chairs, tables by the seats and along the edges of the room. And along one wall was a large, panoramic painting of King Agdar at his coronation, still a young man, crown upon his head, ceremonial orb and scepter in his hands.

But the couch and chairs were comfortable, and a chess set along with a few other games sat upon the tables near them. A few books also lay scattered about, some from their recent shopping trip in town, one of fables from the continent currently being read by Anna, and another documenting the decline and fall of the great Southern Empire, read by Elsa.

But it was an unusual circumstance to have both Elsa and Anna here in the room at the same time. During their long years of separation, there seems to have arisen an unspoken time-sharing policy for this room. Elsa would often have her lessons with Papa or her other tutors here in the library in the morning and into early afternoon, while Anna had hers in her rooms, or elsewhere in the castle. But after three o'clock, Elsa will have retreated back to her room, and the library became open to Anna, who enjoyed the stories and the large tomes with copies of great works of art from around the world, and would often return after dinner with Mama, and sometime Papa if he was free, for games and stories before bed.

And even after the king and queen were gone, the time split continued, just out of habit, or perhaps as a way of remembering Papa and Mama. Now, of course, there were no restrictions. In fact, it was just that time, three o'clock, when in the past neither girl would be in the library. Instead, Elsa and Anna were now both here, together.

"…and on top, you should make a giant ice dragon, but instead of shooting fire out of its mouth, there should be a big burst of sparkly ice!" Anna, her head ducked down between her shoulders, held her arms stiffly forward, fingers spread wide, imitating that very dragon breathing out an ice storm. They had discussed the goings-on of the Queen's Council over lunch, and Anna was quite taken with idea of Elsa erecting a giant ice sculpture of some sort by the docks, and was full of ideas, the dragon being just the latest.

Anna was also quite excited about Elsa's decision to hold a royal ball during the festival, and had already listed enough things that they needed to do in preparation to fill the intervening three months several times over. The most important one, according to Anna, was for Elsa to learn to dance. Elsa had had some lessons when she was little, but after she hurt Anna, she was too afraid to touch anyone, any further lessons became impossible. But now Anna said she would hunt down her old dance instructor Master Coulomb and drag him out of retirement to teach Elsa. "If we're having a ball, then there is dancing, and so her majesty needs to know how, right? And besides," suggested Anna with a smile, "what if there _was_ some handsome prince…"

But eventually the conversation turned back to that of the previous night.

"Elsa, I've been thinking," Anna started. Knowing this would be difficult, she took both of Elsa's hands in her own and held tight. "When we were little, I lost two important things from my life. I lost my sister and I lost my memories." Anna could feel Elsa's hands getting cold, it even stung a little, but she held on all the tighter. "We had to go through a lot of crazy stuff, but I have my sister back. And I couldn't be happier." Snow was swirling around the room a bit, but it was a good kind of snow storm. "So, I was wondering if I could get my memories back."

Elsa looked Anna in the eyes, and any idea of saying no melted away. Some older sister, some _queen_, she's going to be if can't say no to anything her little sister, the _princess,_ asked. Well, she _did_ say no about Hans…

"I don't know if it's possible, but I guess we could go see the trolls and ask."

Anna clasped her hands in front of her in excitement, but then got a look of concern on her face. "How are we going to get there? I wasn't really paying attention when we left the troll valley and came back to the castle, and Kristoff is off in the mountains right now. Maybe Olaf remembers?"

"We should be able to get there ourselves. I found the map Papa used when we went the first time, here in the library." Elsa said, calming Anna down. "But it's probably best we go without Kristoff," she continued with a concerned tone.

"Huh? What's wrong with Kristoff?" asked Anna.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with Kristoff. He certainly took good care of you, so I don't think he means us any harm. But there's something he's not telling us, I'm pretty sure," declared Elsa.

"What do you mean?"

So Elsa explained, "He was there, with the trolls, when we were little and they cured you. Fine. But after the coronation, when you were following me up the mountain, the person you just happened to meet along the way, the only one who could really help you, just happens to be the same person, Kristoff? That seems to be a very big coincidence. "

"Hmm," Anna hmmed. "And you know, when I first talked to him, at the trading post and sauna where I got clothes and carrots, he _did_ seems to already know what was going on, said it was happening on the North Mountain and that it was magical. Like he already knew about you. Which, I guess, he did. Hey!"

Elsa nodded. "Again, I don't think he means us any ill, but like you said last night, he has some explaining to do."

Elsa strode over to a clearly less often used corner of the library, judging from the dust, and looked though the books. After a few moments, she pulled one out, carefully opened it, the book being rather old and falling apart, and withdrew a worn sheet of parchment, the map.

Returning to Anna, Elsa said, "We can get a cart, but once we're off the main paths, it will be hard going."

Anna countered, "Then we'll just ride horses."

Else shook her head, "I'm sorry, but I can't ride. I stopped taking lessons, after… so I barely remember how."

Anna smiled. "We'll be fine. I have the _perfect_ horse, just for you."

* * *

><p>It took a little over an hour to get ready for the trip. Getting food packed for travel, horses prepared, changing to riding clothes (luckily Anna had more than one riding habit, so Elsa was able to borrow a split skirt from one to make a passable riding outfit of her own,) and taking most of the time, arguing with Captain Krog. Allow both the Queen and the Crown Princess to go riding into the mountains, likely long into the night, to a location that they would not reveal, without an escort? He was on the verge of either resigning his post in protest or locking the castle down so they could not leave at all, when finally he and Elsa were able to come to a compromise. He and three additional guards would accompany the royal party most of the way to the Queen's undisclosed destination. At a certain point, they would separate, the guards remaining behind while the Queen and Princess would continue to the end of their travels, which Elsa promised would be no farther than an additional hour. The guards would make camp and wait for their return. If, however, they were gone for longer than twenty-four hours, they would then be authorized to come find them.<p>

Captain Krog still did not like it and expressed his opinion on the matter quite vigorously, but Elsa eventually had to invoke her authority as queen. This was a private, but very important matter, which she and her sister needed to attend to. Luckily, summers in Arendelle, being as far north as it was, ran long, so they would not be travelling in the dark until near the end of their travels.

* * *

><p>After instructing Master Lefferson to clear Elsa's schedule for the next day, the party left the castle, and once outside the city, headed north along the Langsæ Road. After about an hour's travel, they crossed over a stream and eventually passing by the Langsæ Farm, the last before the road turned and started rising towards the mountains.<p>

Two guards lead the way, Captain Krog and another guard trailed behind, and Elsa and Anna rode in the middle. Each guard wore a chainmail shirt and helmet, and was armed with their sword, hanging in its sheath from the guard's belt, a short-spear, held onto the saddle of each horse by a couple hooks, and a crossbow, along with a handful of bolts. One guard from the front and one from the rear-guard would have their crossbows pulled and loaded, in case of an attack, human or animal, while the other two would be ready with their spears for closer melee. Periodically, they would switch, both to keep the guards from losing focus, as well as to release the tension from the crossbows strings, as they shouldn't be kept pulled for extended periods of time since it harms the string (though each guard did, of course, carry spare strings in case of damage.) This close to the city, attacks of any sort were unlikely, but the guards were not taking any chances with their particular coterie.

This afternoon, Elsa was rather enjoying the outing. The weather was clear and the temperature dropping, so it was quite pleasant to be outside. And Elsa herself hadn't traveled outside the castle for the last thirteen years, except for that one particular trip just over one week ago, and that wasn't exactly for sightseeing. And while she hadn't ridden a horse for all that time as well, her lessons were coming back to her readily enough. But then again, it could be the horse.

"I had no idea his horse had been left behind," said Elsa.

"Well, we can just say it the start of the Southern Isles paying us back for all the trouble _he_ caused. Besides, he's a fjord-horse, so he belong up here, not down in those islands." Anna replied.

"And he's very easy to ride. It's almost like I never stopped riding."

"His name is Sitron, which is another word for lemon, which apparently they grow a lot of in the Southern Isles. Still, they should have given him a good Viking name, like Leif or Gudfred. Anyway, he's really smart. When I bumped into him at the docks, when I first met Prince Jerk-face, Sitron was acting like he understood what we were saying, and did things like bowing, and saving us from falling into the water, and stuff. Yesterday, I was talking to him in the stables, and he was talking back, in his horse way."

Elsa looked at Anna, "He talked?"

"You know, like how Kristoff and Sven talk."

"Anna, you know it's really Kristoff talking in a funny voice, not really Sven."

"Of course, I know that. But they spent their whole lives together, they're best buddies, and so Kristoff has just learned to understand what Sven is saying, and just says it out loud for him…" Anna trailed off.

After a few moments of silence, Anna starts up again, "Okay, I know it sounds kind of crazy—"

But Elsa cut in, "Actually, no. It sounds a lot like something Princess Rapunzel and Prince Eugene were telling me."

"Who?"

"Rapunzel is the Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Corona, one of our close trading partners and allies. She and her husband came to the coronation. After everything settled down and we had gotten rid of the Duke and his men, and put Hans on the Loraine ship to be sent home, I had to do a bit of diplomatic, umm, damage control. So I was having a meeting with each of the official delegations that any other kingdom or city-state sent to Arendelle. To apologize and make sure I hadn't ruined any of our agreement or treaties. Rapunzel and Eugene were actually the only other royalty attending other than Hans and the Duke."

"Yeah, I think I heard about them. Why didn't I meet them?"

"I was going to invite you to our meeting, since I had already filled the day with meetings with other kingdoms, but you had gone to talk to the carpenters about Kristoff's new sled."

Anna nodded, remembering the day.

"We're actually related, to the Corona royal family, if you go back a couple generations. That's part of why we're allies, and why Princess Rapunzel agreed to the Wesselton embargo."

Elsa continued explaining, "Apparently, they had quite an adventure before they got married. It seems that Prince Eugene used to be a thief, and was being hunted by the guard, but especially so by one of the guard's _horse_, named Maximus. Apparently, it was a very smart and motivated horse. And when it was all over, they appointed the horse to be the commander of their guards. Now, I knew that Eugene had been a thief before he married Rapunzel, so I just thought they were telling me a funny story, to help calm things down. But from what you're saying, and now that I've met Sitron here," Elsa patted him on his side, "I can believe it."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

- Just for fun, a little real-life geography. The Langsæveien (veien is Norwegian for 'road') is an actual road leading out of Arendal, Norway, and after crossing some water, leads you to the Langsæ Farm.

- Yes, finally had to do the Tangled cross-over. But I decided not to make them first cousins, that's too easy.


	10. Chapter 10 - Ascension

**Chapter 10 – Ascension**

Kristoff sat on his sled, now full of the ice that he had spent the day harvesting, and took in the view. He had woken shortly after sunrise, headed out of Ice Town and into the mountains. Kristoff had decided to head to the peak of Mt. Ørjas, one of the harder mountains to climb, with lots of sharp turns and steep, rough trails. But since Kristoff was an independent, he didn't have to worry about a crew, or navigating with a large ice cart. It was just him, his sled, and his reindeer. And Mt. Ørjas was worth the effort. It was taller than most mountains in the Arendelle range, and so the spring water was more pure, the ice clearer and, for those who could appreciate it, better tasting.

It had taken about two hours to get to the peak and what he was looking for, a mountain spring that fed a small lake, nicely iced over. It had been a long and hard day's work, but it was worth it. He was collecting ice for the castle, so it should be of the highest quality. Elsa and Anna were having some fancy dinner party in a couple days, and so they should have the best ice.

But now, with the day's work complete, Kristoff had started a small fire, warmed up some food and drink, and admired the scenery. From these heights, he could see the whole kingdom. Well, the tops of it, anyway, the city was mostly out of view to the south. The only mountain taller than Mt. Ørjas was the North Mountain, which he could easily see to the west. And on it, he could see Elsa's ice palace, glistening as the evening sun moved behind it. Beautiful, thought Kristoff, as beautiful as the woman who created it.

* * *

><p>Late in the evening, Elsa, Anna, and their escort had reached the destination of the first phase of their travel. The trip had been entirely uneventful, though you wouldn't have known it based on Captain Krog's efforts. He and his guards kept a constant vigil, and even stopped their progress on a couple occasions to send one man ahead to scout around a curve. Anna commented a couple times about the Captain taking his job too seriously, but Elsa respected him for his diligence.<p>

While they were not as high into the mountains as Kristoff, not even up to the summer snow line, they had reached a promontory. From this minor peak, they had quite the vantage of the surrounding area, though it was fading fast into the twilight. Elsa could see, based on her map, the valley where she and Anna would be continuing. Looking north, she could also see her ice palace on North Mountain. It was still quite distant, and thus appeared very small, but she knew it was there. And it called to her. Despite her reconciliation with Anna and the people of Arendelle, she still felt drawn to its snowy reaches, where she was able to just _let it go, _and release the full breadth of her powers. Feel the freedom of the mountain heights and the glory of the wind and sky.

Things hadn't gone well, there on the North Mountain, her disastrous encounter with Anna, and the attack that came after. She didn't even have any memory of leaving her palace; she must have been carried down the whole way, not waking again until she found herself locked in her own castle's dungeon. Those memories, she could do without. And so Elsa made a promise to herself that she would return to the North Mountain soon, reclaim her palace from the pain of those events, take a break from being Queen, and simply enjoy being Elsa.

But for now, she and Anna had other matters to attend to. Elsa turned to Captain Krog, "Princess Anna and I will be proceeding from here on own on. We don't know how long things will take, however."

Waving towards the valley, she continued, "After dawn, assuming we haven't already returned, I will create a gentle snow fall, which will indicate that all is well. If you ever see an ice storm, however, come find us immediately. If things are going to take more the twenty-four hours we agreed on, but everything is still okay, I will send a messenger."

Anna then jumped in, "If time runs out comes and you need to find us, and there's been no message or good snow, you might want to get Olaf. Tell him that we've gone to see the 'love experts.' He'll know what that means and should be able to help."

Elsa turned to Anna, "Love experts?"

Anna shrugged, "It's a Kristoff thing."

* * *

><p>"It's Kristoff's girl!" "It's the Queen!" "Your Majesty!" "Where's my Kristoff?" "The Queen!" "<em>Two<em> girls!"

Elsa and Anna arrived in the moss ring in the low valley about an hour after leaving the guards. With the sun setting and their path heading down behind the mountain tops, it had gotten dark quickly, so they were happy to have arrived at what the map indicated was the "Valley of the Living Rock," which Elsa did not recognize, it having been so long ago, but which Anna energetically did. "This is it! We're here!" she told Elsa. Then to the round stones scattered around the valley, "Hello Kristoff's family!"

The stones' rolling and sudden transformation spooked Anna's horse Starlilly, distracting her while she got her horse under control. Elsa's mount, Sitron, merely retreated a few cautions steps. Elsa dismounted and addressed the troll nearest her, "Hello. My name's Elsa. And this is my sister, Anna. I was hoping we could talk to the troll elder, the one who knows about magic?"

"Grand Pabbie!" called out Anna, who had just managed to settle Starlilly down.

The troll woman looked over at Anna and smiled. "Oh, I remember you. Anna was here just a little while ago with my Kristoff! It was a bit longer for you, but I remember. Pabbie is still sleeping, but he should be up soon."

Anna, having turned Starlilly over to Sitron, came over. "Um, hi," she said to the troll woman.

"Where's my Kristoff?" the troll demanded of Anna. "You didn't make him sad and make him run away, did you? He does that sometimes, you know."

"What? No! He's happy. He's in the mountains getting ice, I guess."

"Well, good. Next time you're both here, we try the wedding again. Get it right this time."

"Excuse me?" said Elsa, turning her gaze to Anna. "Wedding?"

Anna shrugged, "Things were kind of crazy. Kristoff brought me here so Grand Pabbie could unfreeze my heart, and everyone else thought I was his girlfriend and wanted us to get married, but I couldn't of course, because I was engaged to Hans, and then my hair turned all white and we had to go."

Elsa nodded, though she only caught about half of what Anna had just rattled off. "How about we hold off on all engagements _and_ weddings for a while, okay, Anna?"

"Hey! It wasn't my idea, they just thought a little love would fix things."

"Oh." Elsa said, then paused, thoughtfully. "I guess it did, in the end, didn't it."

Anna couldn't help herself, and rushed up and gave Elsa a hug. "Yes it did," she whispered to her sister.

"Hello Elsa. Hello Anna," came a deep voice from beside them.

Anna separated from Elsa and turned to the elder troll with her hands on her hips. "Grand Pabbie, why didn't you tell me that you had seen me before?"

The troll seemed unaffected by the princess' allegation. "It hardly mattered at the time, your heart was freezing and I could not help you. You needed an act of true love." Looking at Elsa, he smiled, "And I see you found one."

"So, what bring you to us tonight?" asked Pabbie.

"Well," Anna started, "I just found out that when we were little, I used to know about Elsa and her powers. But after Elsa accidentally—" she turned to Elsa and repeated emphatically, "_accidentally!_" then returned to the troll, "hurt me with her powers, Papa and Mama brought us to see you. You were able to help me, but took away my memories of Elsa's powers. Why?"

Pabbie sighed, "I am sorry, but it was necessary. You were struck in the head, and so in removing all traces of the magic, your memories of the magic had to go as well."

"Oh, well, " Anna paused, considering her words, "since I know all about it now, Elsa's powers and all, I was wondering if I could get my memories back. Can you do that?"

Pabbie lowered his eyebrows in contemplation. "I can, but it would not be easy. It has been many years, and those memories are well buried now. In retrieving them, many others will be stirred along the way. And you may not like everything you remember. Are you sure?"

Anna grasped one of Elsa's hands and glanced into her eyes. Then turning back to Pabbie, she declared, "Yes. I am sure."

Pabbie nodded. "Very well," he said, "let us get you ready." Pabbie then turned to the troll that Elsa first talked to, "Bulda, please prepare a draught for Anna, two parts sage, one part heliotrope, and get her settled in Kristoff's hut, thank you."

Bulda took Anna's hand and pulled her along, "Come along! I'll get you your potion and show you little Kristoff's toys!"

* * *

><p>Elsa watched Anna walk off with Bulda. "The potion will bring back Anna's memories?" she asked Pabbie.<p>

"Oh no. The potion just makes her mind a little more malleable, to help the memories come loose. It will be a little while yet, but once it has taken effect, then we will be ready to do our work."

"We?" asked Elsa, surprised.

"It is her memories of you that she wishes to remember, so I will need your memories to guide me," explained Pabbie.

After a minute of silence, Elsa spoke up again, "Pabbie, you know all about magic, right?"

Pabbie smiled, "Well, I know a good bit about it, but it would be hard for anyone to know it all."

Elsa clutched her hands, nervously, and asked, "Where do my powers come from?"

Pabbie nodded knowingly, as if he had expected the question eventually. Taking one of Elsa's hands in his, he waved the other across the sky in front of them. In it, Elsa could now see a veritable ocean of tiny motes of lights across the land and swirling throughout the air above and around them.

Elsa gasped, "What is it?"

"It is magic. Most people just see the physical world, but those who can touch the magical world can see that it full of energy, magical energy that surrounds us and inhabits all things. Most of the time, it will just live in the ground, in a tree, or drift freely through the air. But if touched by someone who has studied it— " Pabbie raised his hand again and moved his fingers in a small, swirling circle, "one can influence it—" Hundreds of tiny specks of lights circled and spun around Pabbie's hand, "and do things like this," the sparks collecting into a small globe of light that glowed warmly in the cool night.

"To perform such feats, one would need to study and learn a great deal. Ancient words and gestures that can draw the power and allow it to be wielded, or special substances that, when combined, will have a magical effect. This knowledge may be found in old books, or be taught by a master to their apprentice."

Elsa asked, "And that's how you learned your magic?"

Pabbie nodded, "For me, it is a little different, but yes, I was taught the ways of magic by an elder troll, and I will pass my knowledge on to another before I am worn away."

"But I was born with my magic—" Elsa started.

"Yes, I know. Just listen…"

Pabbie continued, "Now, one in a million of these tiny bits of magic might be something more. Most will simply be slightly stronger and draw other bits of magic to it. There—" Pabbie pointed to an area out towards the outer edge of valley. There, Elsa could, in fact, see a clustering of the magical dots, circling and dancing around an ever so slightly brighter dot of magic. "There's nothing particularly special about it, but it is useful when one want to do something requiring a bit more energy." And, releasing his small glowing sphere, the troll then waved his free hand towards the gathering of specks. The many bits of energy coalesced into a point, which glowed brightly for a moment, before exploding into a shimmering array of colors. The trolls nearby all gave appreciative ooh's and ahh's.

"Now, again, one in a million of _those_ grains of magic will be yet stronger. Those will have the barest hint of intelligence, like maybe that of an insect. They are powerful enough to inhabit a physical form. The slightest of these might join with a mote of dust, and become what you call a will-o'-the-wisp. A greater one may inhabit a mountain or a stream. The magic of such places might become known as a haunted cave, or perhaps a pool whose waters can heal."

Pabbie paused and looked back to Elsa, who nodded, urging him to continue. Turning fully to face Elsa directly, he took her remaining free hand in his, and preceded.

"One in a million of those spirits, perhaps even fewer, will be stronger still. They are a bit more conscious, more aware. And they may be born into living form. The smallest, weakest of these may be born as a mouse or a bird, but they would not be your normal mice and birds. They would be much smarter than their kin, able to understand the world around them and even accomplish small tasks. Stronger and healthier too, for they carry a magical spirit within them. They would even be able to carry and use small items, such as their bodies might allow. And, as a more powerful spirit draws other to them, a number of them are often born together, and stay together during their time in the material word."

"A tiny fraction of these will be powerful enough to be born into a greater animal, and they would be smarter still. Most of these may be born as a dog or cat or similar animal. And some may take a greater form still. Of these, I know you have met a few."

Elsa blinked in realization, comprehending what Pabbie has revealed to her. "My horse, Sitron?" Pabbie nodded, then raised one eyebrow expectantly. "And Sven, Kristoff's reindeer!"

Pabbie smiled and nodded again. "Yes, our dear Sven, who has befriended and cared for Kristoff his whole life. He is quite insightful and full of wisdom, if you learn how to hear him."

After a moment, Pabbie squeezed Elsa's hands a bit and looked her in the eyes, then continued his lecture. "Among these, the most powerful of spirits, a tiny fraction, an infinitesimally small sliver…" he paused, catching his breath, "will be born human."

Hearing these word and understanding their meaning, Elsa tried to free her hands and pull away. But Pabbie was insistent and kept his grip on her. "This is very rare, and hasn't happened for thousands of years." Elsa could hear the tacit addition, _until you_. "The last time any came into the world, your people gave them special names. Odin. Freya. Thor."

This time Elsa was able to pull her hands free. Now, clutching them nervously together, she asked softly, "Are you saying I'm a goddess?"

Pabbie shrugged, "If that's what you want to call it, so be it."

Elsa stared down at her open hands, stunned at what she is hearing.

"Just as the greater of the specks draw the lesser, so can a great spirit affect others. You have done so yourself, when you created your snowman, Olaf. You called upon your domain, ice and snow, to create a vessel and summoned a spirit to inhabit it. You did it again in your ice palace when you created your guardian." And more quietly, he added, "And just as you have summoned your snow golems, you may release them as well, when you so choose."

Elsa gazed around the valley, quietly absorbing the new revelations. She could sense the magic around her now, and knew that if she concentrated, she could see the lights, the swirling bits of magic, just as the troll elder had revealed to her.

"Am I human?" Elsa asked of Pabbie, not sure what answer she wanted to hear.

"You are a child of your parents as much as your sister; it is your spirit that makes you great. I felt the magic, a great disturbance, when you were born, but did not know the nature of it at the time. I soon learned of you, however, and had some idea when you and your parents came to me after the accident. I tried to explain, give some advice, but they chose not to hear what I said, and you and Anna have suffered for it. For that, I am greatly sorry."

They sat quietly for a time, Pabbie allowing Elsa to absorb her new knowledge. After a few minutes, Elsa raised one hand, and created an elaborate snowflake, about the breadth of her outstretched fingers, which floated and rotated above her palm. She could feel her powers with a clarity and focus as never before, even more than when she drew on them on the North Mountain while raising her ice palace. On the mountain peak, she drew upon a great torrent of her power, channeling it to her will, but hardly knowing the nature of what she was doing. Now she could see the very atomic details of her power, and concentrate her will upon the tiniest point.

Eventually, Bulda appeared in the distance and waved to Pabbie.

"Come," said the elder troll, "It is time. Let us attend to your sister."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

So... that happened.


	11. Chapter 11 - Recollection

**Chapter 11 – Recollection**

_Dark._

Cold.

So cold.

Cold and dark. I can't move. I can't feel my body.

So cold…

Elsa?

I feel… something? In my chest, it's warm.

It burns, my heart, it burns! But I'm still so cold.

It's spreading, the heat. I can feel something.

Oh, it's getting warmer. My chest, my shoulders, I can feel them.

I can see! It's blurry, but I can see. I feel something, pulling on me, but I still can't move.

My fingers, I can see my fingers, and feel them! Warm, so warm, now.

"Oh!" Breathe! I can breathe! I can move! I'm so warm.

"_Anna!"_ It's Elsa. Elsa is holding onto me.

Oof! She's never hugged me like this before. I can feel the coolness of her arms around me, but I am still so warm. "Oh Elsa."

"_You sacrificed yourself for me?"_ Elsa, of course, how could I have done anything else!

"I love you."

* * *

><p><em>Frozen fjord.<em>

I'm so cold. I can barely walk. But I have to find him!

"Kristoff!"

The storm, it's so strong.

Got... to... keep... going.

My hands, they're turning to ice, I can barely feel them.

Keep going.

"Kristoff?"

The storm, it stopped.

"Kristoff?"

Got to get to him.

What's that sound? "Elsa?"

Hans and Elsa!

I have to save Elsa!

"No!"

* * *

><p><em>Ballroom.<em>

"_The party is over, close the gates."_

"Elsa, no, no, wait!" Got to stop her. Got her hand! Oops, just her glove.

"_Give me my glove!"_

"Elsa, please, please, I can't live like this anymore." Please help me, living like this is killing me.

"_Then leave."_ What?! Leave? Elsa? What do you mean?

"What did I ever do to you?!" Why is she doing this to me? Why can't she let me be happy?!

"_Enough, Anna."_

"No, why, why do you shut me out? Why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?" Answer me! Tell me why you won't be my sister!

"_I said enough!"_

Aaah! What? Ice? Did Elsa do that? Did I make her do that? Is that why she's been hiding all this time? Oh no, what have I done?

"Elsa…"

* * *

><p><em>Castle hallway.<em>

"For the first time in forever…"

It's a big day. A big, big day. Elsa is becoming Queen, and we're opening up the gate!

Who knew we had so many salad plates?

I get to go to a party, meet all sorts of people, actual real live people, maybe meet someone special.

And I'll be with Elsa. I'll actually get to see her, stand next to her, we'll might even talk, be like sisters again, for a little while at least.

I haven't seen her in _so_ long. Sure, Gerda and Kai tell me about her, but it's not same actually getting to SEE her again. That'll be great!

And strange. What do we do? What do we talk about? Can I just talk to her, or do I have to wait for her to talk to me first?

But maybe she doesn't want to talk to me, or be with me, or be like sisters again. She never talked back to me when I talk to her at her door, never responded to and of my notes, or when I sent her a present or anything. Maybe she just wants to pretend I'm not here, like she's been doing all these years. She probably thinks I'm just the spare, not really needed, nothing special. She has much more important things, _Queen things_, to keep busy now, so she certainly won't have time for me, her stupid little sister who just want to talk to her, maybe have lunch with her, or something. _Anything._

Does she know anything about me now? Does she ask Gerda and Kai about _me?_ Does she even care?

No! That can't be it. We're sisters! And the gate will open and we'll talk and everything.

Who am I kidding, she'll probably just shut the gate and shut me out again, just like she's been doing all these years.

* * *

><p><em>Castle hallway.<em>

There they go, the people who meet with Elsa once a month. They get to see her, but I don't.

They talk to her, she probably even talks to them.

No need to talk to me, I'm just the spare.

She's still in there.

I could just go in, right now. Open the door, walk in and say _Hi, it's me Anna, your sister!_

I could. I should do it.

I'm going to do it! Walk right in and talk to her. Right now.

Right now. I'm ready. I'm going to talk to my sister!

Right now.

Right now.

Now.

now.

* * *

><p><em>Elsa's door.<em>

She should have this. It would look good on her, I think. It was always very pretty when Mama wore it, and Gerda says Elsa looks a lot like Mama now, but with light hair.

It was pretty tough, going through Papa and Mama's stuff. I wish Elsa could help, but she won't come out, so I guess I have to do it.

I remember when Mama would wear it. A special party or dinner. It was beautiful on her.

I wonder if we'll ever have a special party or dinner now. Elsa will become Queen sometime, and then she's going to have to do that kind of stuff. Right? I might get to see her. And she can wear it, like Mama did. And she'll be real pretty like Mama was.

I miss her. Elsa probably misses her too.

She should have this, it will help her remember Mama.

knock knock-knock knock knock

"Hi Elsa. It's me. I'm leaving something for you. It used to be Mama's. I think you'll like it."

"Okay, I'm going now. Bye."

* * *

><p><em>Elsa's door.<em>

bam bam bam

"ELSA!"

"Elsa, talk to me! You have to talk to me!"

"They're gone! They're gone and there's no one else."

bam bam bam

"Open this door and let me in! I want to talk to you. You have to talk to me! Elsa!"

"Why won't you talk to me?!"

"Please, just open the door. Just open it and talk to me."

"Fine! Don't talk to me. And I won't talk to you anymore! See how that feels."

…

"Elsa? Will you talk to me, please? I'm so lonely."

* * *

><p><em>Elsa's door.<em>

"Elsa, please, I know you're in there. People are asking where you've been."

"They say _'have courage,' _and I'm trying to. I'm right here for you, just let me in."

"We only have each other. It's just you and me. What are we going to do?"

…

"Do you want to build a snowman?"

* * *

><p><em>Elsa's door.<em>

knock knock-knock knock knock

"Hi Elsa. It's me, Anna."

"I haven't talked to you in a while, so I think I'd stop by and tell you how things are going."

"Pretty good, I guess. I'm doing okay in my lessons. Math, not so good, but I'm pretty good with the history and literature. I left some books I think you might like on the desk in the library. If you're not interested, I'll put them away tomorrow."

"Mama still wants me to continue with my dancing lessons, but I don't know why. I'm not very good, always tripping over my feet or someone else's. And I don't know when I'm ever going to actually dance with anybody. It's not like we have balls or parties or anything anymore. But it gives me something to do and some people to talk to, so I guess that's something."

"Oh, a couple months ago, Papa got me a new horse! I named her Starlilly, and she's really nice. Master Bjørnholt has been teaching me how to put on her saddle and how to take care of her. It's nice to ride around outside the city and in the hills. It's especially fun when I can go real fast, the air rushing by, blowing my hair around. I really wish you'd come out and join me someday."

"There are a couple new people working in the castle, since old Mister and Mrs. Osltad retired. One of them is a girl, her name is Lise, and she cleans my room sometimes, so I get to talk to her. I think she's about your age, maybe a little older. She tells me about her family, they live in the city, and a boy she likes. She goes to see him when she's not working. I guess they might get married one day. That's kind of funny. She's a maid, but she gets to pick who she wants to marry. We're princesses, but from what I've read in the history books, pretty much Papa and Mama will pick someone, probably a prince from some other kingdom, for each of us. We don't get to pick."

"I've got something else for you. It's sort of a statue, but it's wood. I cut my fingers a bit making it, one time a good stab in my palm, and _that_ hurt, let me tell you. I painted it white, like the snow. I hope you like it. I'll just leave it here outside your door."

"Okay, I guess that's it for now. I hope you're doing good, too. Talk to you later. Bye."

* * *

><p><em>Library.<em>

"What story are we going read tonight, Mama?"

"_Oh, you go ahead and pick one, dear."_

"How about this one? The Little Mermaid. I don't think we've read this one before."

"_No, I don't think we have. It's one of the new books that your Papa had sent in."_

"A new story, that's great! Will Papa be coming?"

"_I'm sorry, dear, but Papa is too busy with his duties. Maybe another night."_

"Hmmph. What about Elsa? It's a new story, do you think Elsa would want to come listen to it, too?"

"_Anna, dear, you know your sister is busy as well. Just come sit with me, and we'll read the story, just you and me."_

"Oh. All right."

…

_Elsa's door._

knock knock-knock knock knock

"Psst! Elsa! We got some new stories, do you want me to read one to you? If you don't just tell me to go away."

…

"Great. I think you'll like this one… 'Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower…' "

* * *

><p><em>Elsa's door.<em>

"Hey, Princess Stinker. Not coming out?"

"Well, I guess I don't need you. I got plenty of friends out here of my own."

"Just had a birthday party, too bad _you_ couldn't be there, because _you_ won't come out of your room. Presents and a chocolate cake! It was great. We played games and sang songs, lots of fun. Didn't need a boring old Princess Stinker to be there."

…

"I really wish you had come to my party."

* * *

><p><em>Elsa's door.<em>

"Do you wanna build a snowman? Or ride our bike around the halls?"

* * *

><p><em>Elsa's door.<em>

"Hey Elsa, come on out. I have some dolls and we can play. Or we can go out into the garden, climb the trees and walk on the wall, it's really nice out."

"Elsa? Why won't you play with me anymore? I really miss you."

"Elsa? I guess it's okay that you want your own room, I know I bother you sometimes. But we can still play together, right?"

"Elsa?"

* * *

><p><em>Elsa's door.<em>

"Do you wanna build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman…"

"_Go away, Anna."_

"Okay, bye…"

* * *

><p><em>Anna's room.<em>

What's going on? Where is Elsa's bed?

"Elsa? Elsa! The men are taking your things away!"

Where are they going with Elsa's wardrobe and dresser? She's leaving? Why is Elsa leaving?!

Oh, they're taking Elsa's stuff to another room. Maybe they're just going to clean it and paint it to make it look even nicer. Elsa doesn't want to leave our room. We have so much fun together. We're best buddies. Sisters!

"Elsa?"

Why is Elsa in the other room? Elsa doesn't want to be with me anymore.

* * *

><p><em>The throneroom.<em>

"Do the magic! Do the magic!"

Snow!

"This is amazing!"

"_Hi I'm Olaf, and I love warm hugs."_

"I love you Olaf."

…

"Ticklebumps!"

…

"_Hang on."_

"Catch me!"

"Again!"

"_Wait. Slow down!"_

Whee!

"_Anna!"_

uh!

_dark_

* * *

><p><em>Elsa and Anna's bedroom.<em>

"Elsa. Pssst!"

"Elsa, wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"_Anna, go back to sleep."_

"I just can't. The sky's awake, so I'm awake, so I have to play."

"_Go play by yourself." _Oomph!

Hmm… how do I get Elsa to play… I know!

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" Yay!

* * *

><p><em>Library.<em>

"But Elsa, I don't wanna do lessons, I wanna play."

"_Anna, remember what Papa said, we do our lessons now, we can play later."_

"Hmph. Okay, but it better be more interesting than last time."

"_Good morning Princess Elsa, Princess Anna. Are we ready for our lessons this morning?"_

Master Thomassen talks funny. And he _always_ brings a cup of tea to lessons.

"_Yes, Master Thomassen."_ _"_Yes, Master Thomassen."

"_Very good. Now please get your history books. I say, where did I put mine. Must be still be in my bag."_

Hmm, he's not looking…

"psst. Elsa. Do the magic."

"_What?"_

"Do the magic." To his tea cup, over there!

*zot*

He he he! Oops, don't smile!

"_Ah yes, here it is. Now, open up to chapter 4 and we'll continue with—I say! What has happened to my tea? It's frozen?! One of the kitchen staff is playing a joke on me, it seems."_

He he he!

* * *

><p><em>Elsa and Anna's playroom.<em>

"One Two Three together, clap together, snap together,"

"You and me together, knees together, _freeze_ together,"

"Up or down together, princess crown together,"

"Always be together, you and me!"

* * *

><p><em>Castle gardens.<em>

"Hey Elsa, let's have a snowball fight!"

"_Anna, it's the middle of summer."_

"I know! It's so hot, so it's a great time for snowballs! Do the magic!"

*zot*

Yaaay!

* * *

><p><em>Private family dining room.<em>

"_Now girls, eat up you lunch, then you can go play outside for an hour."_

"_Thank you, nanny." _"Thank you, nanny."

"Thif if a mood fandwiff!"

"_Anna, a princess does not talk with her mouth full."_

"Yes, nanny."

"psst. Elsa. Do the magic."

"_What?"_

"Do the magic." Nanny's big behind!

*zot*

"_Oh! What was that?!"_

* * *

><p><em>Castle gardens.<em>

"Elsa! Race you to the top of the tree!"

"_Anna, we shouldn't climb trees, it's not princess-like."_

"Oh, ppptttt! Come on!"

"_Okay, here I come! I'm going to beat you!"_

Can't let Elsa beat me to the top! Next branch, pull up! That one… hey!

"Elsa, no fair making the branch slippy with ice! That's cheating!"

"_Okay. There, I made it go away. Come on up, it's great up here, you can see the fjord."_

Next branch, put me knee up, and push. I made it!

"This is amazing. Whoops!" Aaah! The branch is breaking, I'm going to fall!

"_You're okay Anna, I got you."_

* * *

><p><em>Anna's nursery.<em>

Uh, I'm so hot.

"_Mama, is she going to be okay?"_

"_She'll be fine, Elsa. She just has a bit of a fever, and it will take a little time for her to cool down. Watch her for a minute, please, dear, I'll be right back."_

So hot. "Elsa, I don't feel too good."

*zot*

Snow! Oh, it feels so nice when it touches my skin.

"Thanks Elsa. A snow flurry, just for me."

* * *

><p><em>Elsa and Anna's playroom.<em>

"_Come on, Anna! You can do it! Just get up on both feet, that's it, and step!"_

Umph, walking is hard. Left foot. Right foot. Oh no, can't stay up!

Ooof! Snow! Nice soft snow.

"El-sa."

"_I love you too, Anna."_

* * *

><p><em>Anna's nursery.<em>

"Waaah! Waaah!"

Hungry! Tired! Upset!

"Waaah! Waaah!"

A face. Pretty face.

"Waaah! Waaah!"

Oooh sparkly white pretty shape. Can I touch it? It's cold! Cold feels nice.

"aaah…"

Happy. I love face.

* * *

><p><em>Dark.<em>

But warm.

_Uh, so dizzy._

Anna blinked her eyes, waking up as if from a deep sleep. _Where am I?_

Elsa gently kept Anna from getting up. "It's okay Anna, you're all right. Just rest for a bit."

"Elsa?" Anna croaked, her mouth a bit dry.

"I'm here, Anna," said Elsa, sniffling.

"Hey Elsa?" Anna looked up from the mat she was resting on, meeting Elsa's eyes and blinking away the tears.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?"

* * *

><p>– <strong>end part 1 –<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

when I started this fanfic, I had thought it would just be a collection of unconnected chapters, just some stand-alone drabbles that would each just touch on some aspect of the movie that I thought needed more exploration. You can see that in the first few chapters, certainly. But like much writing, it took on a life of its own, and turned into an actual narrative. Unfortunately, I hadn't _planned_ on it being an actual story with, you know, a beginning, middle, and end. I'm just as interested in seeing where this goes as you are. :)

Thank you so much to my readers and reviewers, especially Morgaine2005 for her regular reviews and tumblr repostings.


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